tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54594541343830472024-03-13T13:08:15.681-04:00WEEPING A NIGHT, REJOICING THE MORNINGUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-77951014671814070192013-11-03T06:07:00.001-05:002013-11-03T06:07:42.404-05:00Garden Party<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; text-indent: 48px;">
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<i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">A little girl asked her mother, 'How did the human race appear?'</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">The mother answered, 'God made Adam and Eve and they had children and then all mankind was made.'</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">Two days later the girl asked her father the same question. The father answered, 'Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved.'</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">The confused girl returned to her mother and said, 'Mom, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they developed from monkeys?'</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">The mother answered, 'Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his.'</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">It was a lovely day. I was sitting on a bench by a small garden of pretty white and pink flowers. Bees flittered back and forth between petals. I thought about the perfection of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">In the light breeze of the afternoon you could just get a whiff of the perfume of those blossoms. Obviously the bees could smell it for they were attracted to the source of the pleasing odor, which is the reason flowers smell good in the first place. The whole design of the blossom is made to attract the bee, stick pollen to it and let it carry the pollen to another plant to impregnate it, so to speak. This is a neat little system of bees and flowers working together for their mutual benefit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">If reproduction is the benefit to the plant, what is the benefit to the bee? The bee goes from flower to flower gathering nectar to take back to the hive. In the hive the bees turn the nectar into honey. It is stored in cells and when the honey is ready, the cell is capped with wax for storage. Then comes winter when the flowers are gone to seed, the bee taps the wax and has food to last till spring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">Pretty ingenious for an accident, don't'cha think?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">They say if you put some monkeys in front of typewriters they would produce all the works of Shakespeare if given enough time. How much time, do you suppose? And how would you keep the monkeys at the typewriters? And how would they live long enough? Shakespeare didn't sit at a typewriter (well, of course not, typewriters didn't exist, but he sat by a blank piece of paper with a quill) for some interminable time. He started with an idea and plan of what he wanted to say and wrote it over a short period. He designed his plays with intelligence, not chance and accident. Frankly, I don't think those monkeys would produce all those works if they pecked away for eternity. But I don't have enough faith to be an evolutionist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">Frankly, every fish I ever saw taken out of the water for any period of time evolved into a dead fish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">Genesis 1:11-12</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">Genesis 1:24-25</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;"></span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">Genesis 1:26<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">A belief in creationism is an act of faith. So is the belief that evolution explains how we came to what we are. I choose the more logical.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-30795424478824658252013-10-11T21:35:00.000-04:002013-10-11T21:35:20.375-04:00There Was Night; There Was Morning -- Another Day<br />
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<b style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:11</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">"The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.'" Exodus 31:16-17 </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:3 <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;">"But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" John 5:45-47</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">I am about to write my thoughts about the six days of Creation, I repeat, these are my thoughts. There are several views about the length of Creation. I urge everyone not to accept my view, but to read the Scriptures and come to your own decision from the Word of God. I have no desire to be didactic here, only to explain what I believe and why.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. Genesis 1:1-3<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">In Young's Literal Translation, Genesis 1:1-3 reads:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">"In the beginning of God's preparing of the heavens and the earth -- the earth hath existed waste and void, and darkness on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of the waters, and God saith, 'Let light be;' and light is.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Genesis One tells us God created the heavens and the earth. It indicates the earth existed in a state of waste, void of life or anything. The Literal Translation implies a possible gap in the creation of the forming of the matter and the six days of preparing earth for life. This gap could be short, could be long. I don't know if there really was such a gap or how long it lasted, and it doesn't matter because God doesn't deal with anything here but the heavens and the earth we know and how it concerns mankind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">God is eternal. Time does not apply to God. The earth is finite because He created it so. Time, as we know it, was designed for the creation, not for the Creator. God has no beginning or end. The earth has both. All our measures of time are dictated by the way the creation was designed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">The earth as created by God turns on its axis. It is not the sun or moon that dictates a day's length, it is the revolution of the earth. At the beginning earth was in darkness. I believe this was really, really, really dark darkness. Darkness is the absence of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">God said, "'Let light be'; and light is." This light was not sunlight. It was light. God created light and later he endowed certain objects of have light. This first light was some kind of Godly light. I don't personally think the light referred to here was God although scripture says: "</span><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5b) </span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">I believe this was the creation of the light we see.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Whichever, light existed separate of the sun and other objects we attribute it to today. Two reasons: First, the sun, moon and stars weren't created until the fourth day. Second, Revelation tells us someday God will do away with the Sun, moon and stars, yet "there will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light." There will also be no more time.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">But in the beginning, when light had been created, as the earth revolved on its axis, there was night and there was day, a day. Why not accept what it says? I know there are arguments that “Yowm”, translated “day”, can be used to mean a period of time, that so can the phrases "there is night, there is morning". But why try to build large constructs when single day will do? Why not apply Occam's Razor, "</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">one should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything"?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">I use to go; well everything fits with the evolutionary concept of creation. There was an occurrence, things were formed, there was light, there was an earth of primeval soup out of which land formed and seas were separated as the temperature cooled. Then came all the plants and animals and finally man. Why, there is no conflict between God and science. Time doesn't even exist for God, so length isn't a problem. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">But there are two problems to my mind, one supernatural, and the other natural.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">"In the beginning God created." God said, "let there be light; and there was light". Hebrews 11 says, "By faith, we understand the universe was made at God's command". God said to the Israelites, "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth". These statements do not say God created a process and it moved slowly from simple to complex. These are actions that seem to spring instantly from the will of God. The verses say there were a night and a morning and a day each time, but this doesn't necessarily mean it took God 24 hours to create each thing, only that each creation was done on a separate day. Why can't we accept that God didn't need million of years to accomplish this. Hebrews 11 also says, "that what is seen was not made out of what is visible"; in other words, that which existed on God's command did not evolve out of something previously existing, so when God said let there be plants, there were plants. When I was trying to line up Divine Creation with natural creation, wasn't I merely trying to appease those who scoff at my faith in the power of God? Wasn't it my pride afraid of being laughed at for being so ignorant of scientific speculation? I have come to believe everything that anyone believes, whether God or science, is a matter of faith. Why should I fear their faith if I truly believe my own?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">There is a natural problem as well. It is that third and fourth day. On the third day, God said:</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">`Let the earth yield tender grass, herb sowing seed, fruit-tree (whose seed [is] in itself) making fruit after its kind, on the earth:' and it is so. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Why is this a natural problem? It is because God didn't illuminate the Sun, moon and stars until the fourth day.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"> `Let luminaries be in the expanse of the heavens, to make a separation between the day and the night, then they have been for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years, and they have been for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth:' and it is so.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">If God set up an evolutionary process over millions, or even thousands, of years for his Creation to develop, how would plants blossom and bloom before they had the sunlight needed for photosynthesis to produce their food, if the sun didn't evolve until many, many years later? You cannot line up God's Creative order with the evolutionary order. So why try to make God's Creation last the millions of years necessary for evolutionary theories to work?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">I would say that God had the power to nourish the plants however he chose. But everything you read in Scripture about God shows order. If there is an odd hiccup in a sequence it is usually on purpose to get your attention. If all the plants were created on a single day, they would last until God gave the Sun the power of light the next day. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">There is a second aspect to this setting of luminaries in the heavens. They mark the seasons. They are markers of time. We already have the earth rotating on an axis, which gave us a day. Now we have a sun for the earth to orbit around, giving us our year, and we have a moon orbiting the earth, giving us our month. Thus we don't have arbitrary measures for our lives, but a standard. Why then should we have one other important measure of our calendar that is arbitrary, namely the week?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">We don't. We have our week because God created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. If God has set a standard of seven 24-hour days as the basic work week of humans, why do we want to stretch that standard when applied to Him?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Now there is another interesting statement made on the sixth day, after the creation of all the creatures with the breath of life in them, including man. It is this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">"</span></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so." Genesis 1:29-30</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #420040; font-size: 12pt;">There is no reason not to think Isaiah 11:6's prophesy of the future, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them," is not a return to the state of the Garden of Eden. Until the fall, there were no carnivores. Every creature was a vegetarian. So how do I accept eons of bloodthirsty beasts tearing at each other before Adam and Eve? </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">In one comment, the question was raised, what did the animals do to deserve to die? </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"> The answer is nothing. That is the point, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sinned they could not adequately cover themselves with leaves. An innocent sacrifice was needed to atone for them and God spilt the first blood by slaying animals for their skins to cover Adam and Eve, pointing millenniums ahead to the Lamb of God, Christ, the innocent shedding His blood to cover our sins. It was sin that brought death into the world and all the bloodshed that followed, human or animal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">I guess I could touch on one more point concerning length of time. In Genesis 2:2-4 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Who lied here? Was it God or Satan in the form of the serpent? Adam and Eve ate the fruit and didn't drop over dead. God confronted them and some animals died, but Adam and Eve went on to live a long life. Adam lived to be 930 years in fact. Now if we want to use the thousand years is as a day as the Lord's yardstick, then Adam didn't live to be a thousand, so he did die on the day he ate the fruit. But again, why not stay with the simple words of the text. God didn't say they would drop dead, he said they will truly die, and they did die physically eventually, which they would never have done if they had obeyed God. However, the moment they bit into that fruit they died spiritually.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Anyway, I am drifting toward other subjects. These things are some of the thoughts I have, my opinion, my wrestling with the subject of the length of Creation. I am willing to except what the Bible says is what the Bible means unless it is clearly shown as allegoric, symbolic or parable. Again, please don't accept anything I say, but study the Word and come to what you believe for yourself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 12pt;">(The photograph at the top was taken by the author in the Rocky Mountains near Vail, Colorado, August 1999.)</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-1163663545367301222013-10-08T19:49:00.000-04:002013-10-08T19:49:27.745-04:00You'll Get A Big Bang Outta This One<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empt</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">y...</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">When I was a child I did not like church. Up until I was nine I had little exposure to things ecclesiastic. My ancestral tradition had been Quaker, especially on my father's side, but my progenitors had gradually been disabused of their Friend standings since first arriving on these shores nearly 330 years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">I was sprinkled in the Grove Methodist Church that my great-great uncle had built, where my mother's family attended and my parents had been married, but between that time and several years latter when my father returned from the South Pacific after the war, I don't recall being inside a church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">For some reason I do not know, it was decided in mid-1950 that yours truly should become a good Christian child and attend Sunday School. Every Sunday morning I was scrubbed down and dressed up in my goin'-to-meetin' suit and send down Washington Avenue to the Downingtown Methodist Church. I faithfully earned my perfect attendance pins, but this hollow symbol was all I got out of the experience. My parents and grandparents didn't come to church. I remember they came once when I was in some kind of little church play playing a tree, but other than perhaps Easter they didn't come. I don't even think they went at Christmas. It begged the question, why did I have to go?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">By the time I was 12 I could make enough of a fuss about it that they gave up forcing me out the door on Sunday. I became just another of many who claimed Christianity and practiced nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">I was lured back to the church as a young teen by the lure of a hamburger. A friend and classmate invited me to Methodist Youth Fellowship with the promise that after the meeting we would all go to Dick Thomas's Brick Oven Drive-in out along Route 30, which was country back then. I loved the food at the Brick Oven, more than I loved the Lord I am sad to admit, and I would endure anything to eat there, even go to church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">I went that time and I stayed in the group. It was fun and interesting, but I was in it for the fun and games, and food, not the message. And I thought I was so smart. I liked to ask what I though were tough questions. I was looking for the gotcha.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">"If God created the universe, then where did God come from?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">There you go, Reverend. Get out of that one, huh. Oh, ain't I just so profound, like no one ever asked that one before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">But you remove God from it all and the mystery remains and everything in the end comes down to faith. If the Big Bang created the universe, where did the Big Bang come from? Where does nothing end and something begin? How could nothing become something? Don't dwell too long thinking about it or it will drive you crazy, because something from nothing is impossible and there being nothing without something is impossible and there being something without end is impossible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Our being here is impossible. Yet, here we be. If you can believe in this impossibility, then why not believe in God? The Big Bang came out of some singularity and I accept that the singularity was God and in an instant of time he created the universe and remains in control of its destiny. It takes no great faith to understand the complexity of all we are and see his architecture, programming, art, skilled labor, design and intelligent. It takes more suspension of disbelief to ignore God's hand in this creation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Rom 1:20</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #435566; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Tell me, if you understand.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Who stretched a measuring line across it?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">On what were its footings set,<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">or who laid its cornerstone-<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">while the morning stars sang together<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">and all the angels shouted for joy?</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Job 38:4-7</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-11627291545060149732013-10-04T17:15:00.000-04:002013-10-04T17:15:44.357-04:00Science and God<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">I may sound anti-science. I'm not. God gave us inquiring minds and an interest in our origins, but he wants us to keep him foremost in our thoughts. It is fascinating to read the theories of how the planets formed, how the sun developed and so forth. I don't believe in removing science from God's universe, but believe the error is when one removes God from scientific inquiry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">I don't know of anything in the sciences that truly clashes with the Biblical record. There may be some things pointed to by some, such as in Leviticus 11:13-19. In verse 13 it says "these are the birds you are to detest and not eat...". It then goes on to list various birds, but in verse 19 the bat is included. Well, a bat is not a bird. Oooh nooo! Throw out the Bible. But the word translated birds can just as easily be translated "flying things" and probably should have been.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">The Bible isn't a textbook on science. It is God's Word of how we should live as he intended. It wasn't dictated to someone word for word, but inspired by the Holy Spirit to various people in various times and they wrote in the common words of their time and culture. Their use of expressions of their day in no way devalues the underlying truth of the message or of God's Will for our lives. There have been people closer to our own time, for instance, that referred to bat's as flying mice. But bats aren't even rodents, they are mammals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Did God create the universe in six twenty-four hour days or over a much longer time? Only God knows. The Bible says "a day is as a thousand years" to God. Does that mean creation took only six thousand years? (I'm not counting the seventh day when God rested.) But the expression that "a day is as a thousand years" was an expression that time didn't matter to God, not something stated as precise fact. I have no argument with those who say these were literal 24-hour days anymore than I do with those who claim creation took billions of years. I don't know. God does.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">It says there was dark, there was light, a day. But these may not have been the days we know. The sun wasn't created until the fourth day, so our measure of the revolution of the earth in relationship to the sun hardly applies. What measurement was God using? I don't know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">There are many creation stories in different religions. The Judeo-Christian-Islam creation is unique among them, even though many others have similarities. There is an order and logic to the Biblical creation that is not dissimilar to scientific stories of the evolution of the planet. A hardy let there be</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; text-indent: 0.5in;"> light a</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">nd a chaotic formless mass is created. A planet is solidified, an atmosphere conducive to life is made, seas and lands are separated. Plants are created to supply food for what is to come. Then the sea creatures and birds, and then the land animals until finally man and woman have life breathed into them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Do I believe in evolution? Not in Darwinism, no. Not in some accent from an amoeba to a monkey to a man, no. I believe God formed the originals. I believe in adaptation. I don't think these things clash with science at all. What science claims is still as much a matter of faith as what the Bible says. There are scientists who believe the Bible and there are people who resolve the difference, just as there are people on both sides who dispute and try to prove one side or the other correct.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">But I will continue to believe in God and in his Word over that of men, no matter how learned. What is the age of the universe? Nobody knows. Some say this, some say that, and the estimate keeps changing. What is a species? There is disagreement on that among biologists. Is their race? There are arguments against their being such a thing race. Was the universe caused by a Big Bang? That is the most widely known theory right now, but there are at least four other theories prevalent and the view of how we came about changes all the time. Are dinosaurs reptilian or aviary? Science never stays </span></span><span style="line-height: 32px;">consistent</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"> the Word of God does.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">How could the sun have been stopped from rising without the earth flying off its axis into oblivion? Wouldn't the earth have had to stop revolving for this to happen? Why so? This is an account of an event using the expressions of the time and the writer. Just as we say the sun rose and the sun set is not scientifically correct, saying the sun never rose and the day was in darkness may be as well. God could darken an area like night if he willed. Still, I don't think God too small to stop the whole universe in its tracks if he willed; after all he created it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">What is the dark force beyond the universe? Science says its there, but can't explain it. Are there parallel worlds? String theory says so. There is so much mystery mixed with knowledge, we really know little. I know I'll trust that God knows the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-79102328799152965062013-10-03T09:38:00.000-04:002013-10-03T09:38:11.333-04:00Taking a Risk and Lessons Learned Listening
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-RLgz70zTvao187WsPQ9vCx6iVD9OIEky34VBoGc8gwOx6jgfgjFCWvlwByHGdzDDOC6_sRRorub_I3NBcY9SHox0UHC-Lw9aUU6nSzL7GWz_wDN90RQvUl6lAjNV6vHLj6vUDeoFKo/s1600/1943+06+Esther+brown+&+me+Downingtown+Park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-RLgz70zTvao187WsPQ9vCx6iVD9OIEky34VBoGc8gwOx6jgfgjFCWvlwByHGdzDDOC6_sRRorub_I3NBcY9SHox0UHC-Lw9aUU6nSzL7GWz_wDN90RQvUl6lAjNV6vHLj6vUDeoFKo/s320/1943+06+Esther+brown+&+me+Downingtown+Park.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">My grandmother (pictured with me left in 1943) use to say, "Better to keep your mouth shut
and be thought a fool, than open it and remove all doubt". I’ve followed
her aphorism fairly well during my life. It works, too. You sit not saying a
word with a group of people having a serious discussion and they start thinking
you are smart, really up on the whole thing and if you do say something at some
point, it gets their full attention. Of course, if you never say a word it is
even better, because they go away thinking you were the brightest person in the
room, you obviously understood everything and you never said anything dumb.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I
discovered much later this idea didn't originate with my grandmother, but is
actually Biblical: <b><i>"Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if
he holds his tongue.” </i></b></span><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Proverbs</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">17:28</span></i></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Thus I take
a big risk by telling about my life herein. Some may actually read these things
and my mask will be off and they will see me a fool. It is a risk to expose
one's mind to others. You open up your head and perhaps all that is seen is a
black hole, or worse you crack that skull and a bunch of snakes wriggle out.
People do need to keep in mind my essays weren’t written to influence or
criticize others. This is about my exploration toward God and my failings along
the way. I am not writing to confront your beliefs, but my own. All of us have
opinions that conflict with those of others and sometimes we are too sensitive
on hearing a different view. If you take offence to anything, then please
examine why you felt offended, because there is no offence intended here. I
don't ask anyone to agree with me and there is certainly no way I can force
anyone to do so. All I can plead is you give it some thought before outright
rejection. As I say, it is a risk to open one's thoughts or mouth. Listening
can be much more profitable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I met a man
for the first time a while back and he and I began to talk. Well, he talked and
I listened. What he said was interesting, because I took the time to listen and
although he said occasionally, "I'm sorry, I'm talking you leg off",
I assured him it was all right, I had another leg. The man was 80 years old and
had served his country during the Korean War. I learned about his joining, his
service, how he came to know the Lord, and much about his life. I also learned
another lesson about why we sometimes endure suffering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Besides
having battled cancer for 17 years, the man more recently suffered some other
ailment, one of pain affecting his ability to hold objects. He came near death,
lost 40 pounds and landed in intensive care. A nurse commented to him one day
on his patience and his pleasantries to them. He explained their job was
difficult enough without his complaints. Besides he had no reason to fear
death. Another nurse told him he did make their day easier because many under
their care were bitter and blamed the nurses for their troubles. The nurses
asked him to pray for them, which he did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">What did I
learn from this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The
realization when we suffer, our reaction to our trouble is observed by others
and may be influencing their lives in ways we don't know. They may not approach
us and tell us so, as the nurses approached this man, but it doesn't mean it
isn't the case and down the road our demeanor may help that observer (maybe
even bring that observer to trust God).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I've had sufferings
in my life, as have we all, and I hope I have borne up well through those
trails. Certainly at times I thought, why me? What have I done to deserve this?
I didn't necessarily do anything to deserve it. It may have been for the
benefit of someone else I was not even aware of and isn't that wonderful?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-3169709166290410242013-10-02T18:19:00.003-04:002013-10-02T18:20:17.293-04:00Sanctuary<!--[if !mso]>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOOBA76CmzgYzWjstOwRXMofl96flQPMMeY2moiJGBYXOKiOM38nZBdq-JRSlD49aMTIeFyNdctbpm4AnUXDGx7S8DeHTNPpc1VLNZfq3nsMDk2SCqcQpx4XS6Y7G-LDpN8Oc1QxiC1I/s1600/2011+06+18+On+Hidden+Pond+trail+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOOBA76CmzgYzWjstOwRXMofl96flQPMMeY2moiJGBYXOKiOM38nZBdq-JRSlD49aMTIeFyNdctbpm4AnUXDGx7S8DeHTNPpc1VLNZfq3nsMDk2SCqcQpx4XS6Y7G-LDpN8Oc1QxiC1I/s320/2011+06+18+On+Hidden+Pond+trail+002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">I am a walker. This is something I've done as far back as I can
remember. There is a feeling of sanctuary in a walk. It is where I go to think
and sometimes to pray. The setting isn't important, whether city street or
forest path. Sometimes I walk with another carrying on a running conversation
as we stroll. Sometimes I walk alone finding peace in the solitude of my steps.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Walking
alone means I am sometimes a dangerous walker, or a foolish one if you wish. I
go into places better visited with company or just wander off where prudence
should dictate otherwise. I once walked seven miles during a near blizzard
because the buses stopped running. Two years ago I suffered an injured foot. I had
sat around several days, but then the pain eased up and I went walking into
woods I had never been in. The trail grew narrow with muddy puddles and fallen
tree trunks to navigate. I was far back when the pain returned. I honestly
didn't think I would make it back to civilization against the stabbing, searing
poker piercing my foot.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Perhaps
this man was as foolish as I. He was hiking along the edge of a bluff enjoying
the view when he tripped and fell over a cliff. Fortunately he was able to grab
a tree root growing out of a fissure in the sheer rock face. He hung there,
gripping this thin vegetation screaming for help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Is
there anyone up there?" he shouted.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A voice
answered, "Yes, I am here."</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Great,"
said the dangling man. "Can you help me?"</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"I can
save you," said the voice.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Please
hurry," said the man.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Do
you believe I can save you?" asked the voice.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Yes,"
said the man. "I believe you can."</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Okay,"
said the voice. "Let go of the root."</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"What?"</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Trust
me, I will save you, but first you must let go of that root."</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The man was
silent for a moment. Then he shouted, "Is there anyone else up
there?"</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The answer
is no one else is up there. Of course that is my opinion. I don't think you can
ever believe He can save you, unless you are willing to let go of all the other
roots that you grasp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-27451956082722769272013-09-26T22:46:00.000-04:002013-09-26T22:46:12.633-04:00CATS: Calling All That Seek
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50D1VcYYSNuUJs7AtZaFvuWuVUUUUz-frteMrx2EoHzAaMq3GHHqPrMSa5AMtSLzQOAMo58je0ZLxRHEEv14BVrVnigXgoe_BGeX2-5N3GZCdG7m4Wwxd6Y8CdOkMrcJhyZioPKlrOyw/s1600/2008+05+08+Asheville+Trip+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50D1VcYYSNuUJs7AtZaFvuWuVUUUUz-frteMrx2EoHzAaMq3GHHqPrMSa5AMtSLzQOAMo58je0ZLxRHEEv14BVrVnigXgoe_BGeX2-5N3GZCdG7m4Wwxd6Y8CdOkMrcJhyZioPKlrOyw/s320/2008+05+08+Asheville+Trip+002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Dog spelled
backward is God. Our dog’s faithfulness to us and our faithfulness to our dog
may be a metaphor for our relationship with God. When our dog was 17 years old
he had great difficulty walking. We put him in a vest with a handle so he could
be taken here and there, like a living suitcase. He looked to us for his needs.
We provided them to him. Sometimes we were angry with him, but knowing his
weaknesses, we forgave him. Without our love and grace he could not have
survived. He put his trust in us completely and we upheld him in his powerless
old age. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Our cats
remind us God calls all that seek Him. We are lost and yet God will draw us to
Him and give us salvation. My family has found lost cats for several years now
and given them new life. We have especially, my wife and I, provided a home to
older cats, who often do not get adopted and would perish in a shelter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">My wife and
both daughters have been employed by no-kill animal shelters, and both
daughters still are. My wife is retired and my daughters work as VetTechs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">One evening
the younger daughter brought overnight guests. She had picked them up that
morning and they will go to the shelter and hopefully soon be adopted. Just as
these creatures of God's seek love, there are people who seek their love in
return. This will serve both well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">We had the
little delights for one night; </span><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026"
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that CATS mean God is <b>C</b>alling <b>A</b>ll</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSQM2pwt4b6jLDKuz7rSvIg_XWOZFYmkTFCGlM251nXPJRyneIqwNTXRgFXwyXpPUx8z8gD3OWrFooCp7UDouwwrNxvvUWCRcQaOkruCPyAJLbEfDcJ2wvTTaH0S1JjxQPoWqxnzI6fU/s1600/1999+Kittens+by+Noelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSQM2pwt4b6jLDKuz7rSvIg_XWOZFYmkTFCGlM251nXPJRyneIqwNTXRgFXwyXpPUx8z8gD3OWrFooCp7UDouwwrNxvvUWCRcQaOkruCPyAJLbEfDcJ2wvTTaH0S1JjxQPoWqxnzI6fU/s320/1999+Kittens+by+Noelle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>T</b>hat <b>S</b>eek. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-80290356010559141932013-09-25T04:43:00.000-04:002013-09-25T04:43:02.544-04:00Mosquitoes
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfDm-wKAak0NAvDvoOGwr6dAlaC-kEG3AnESAYKMaQGNUkmxG6BJLSic0-gMbgh20MaPkHQPwzdGl0xUv7sGmKraY7JO1SI5vWxTcrCFLW2Io3V6KW5fzm3pqtDmCmhKBQ-YV856MFvE/s1600/MOSQUITO+MAGNIFIED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfDm-wKAak0NAvDvoOGwr6dAlaC-kEG3AnESAYKMaQGNUkmxG6BJLSic0-gMbgh20MaPkHQPwzdGl0xUv7sGmKraY7JO1SI5vWxTcrCFLW2Io3V6KW5fzm3pqtDmCmhKBQ-YV856MFvE/s320/MOSQUITO+MAGNIFIED.jpg" width="301" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">There is a
place I sometimes go called, “Tamela's Place”, where I would find "encouragement,
grace, joy faith, hope and love", all things I often need. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">One time
she wrote about ducks. Well, not about ducks literally, but about allowing
offenses to roll off our backs like water off a duck, a very wise point.
You can't <i>duck</i> (pun intended) all the offenses thrown against you.
However, if you carry those slights around with you, you will drown under the
weight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">She quoted
Jesus in Luke 4:18-19: </span><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">“</span><b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">That the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to
set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the
Lord.” </span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(Jesus himself was reading from Isaiah 61:1-2.)</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">She went on
to discuss the meaning of "brokenhearted" and “heartache”. I'm sure
we've all been there. Things happen to us all. We face disasters and setbacks
and suffer great pain. We recognize these things easily when they are
big. And sometimes these big things bring us closer to God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">There is
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">our guard down because it is not involving
heartache or the roof caving in. It is little annoyances, inconveniences; what
I am going to call mosquitoes. Yet, added up, these little insignificant
insects can take you off your game, even disrupt your relationship to the Lord.
This happens to me sometimes and that is when I need those things that
Tamela offered on her website.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">You know
how disruptive mosquitoes can be. You want to sit outside on a lovely, cool
summer eve, perhaps enjoying a bar-b-que and here come the mosquitoes. You swat
at them, maybe kill one, but there are always others close behind and their
bites will cause irritations on your skin that you can't stop scratching for
days. This can ruin your little cook out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I've been
swarmed by mosquitoes at times. Let me give examples so you understand.
Although some may seem inconsequential, even comical, believe me, they led to a
distracting rash, and you know there is always a danger of out-an-out disease
from mosquitoes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Buzz, bite
---<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I go to
trim my yard. I have an electric weedwacker with easy-feed cutting braids,
twisted nylon that slips through holes in the spinner. Except the last tube of
replacement braids I purchased are too thin. When I turn on the trimmer, the
braids simply spin right out of their holes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">So I go to
Sears to find thicker braids. I find these nice plumb black ones (mine are
green) that I think will do. I go to pay and the salesman says it would be
cheaper in the long run to buy a reel then snip off braids to length as needed
and have many more than the tube holds. Okay, so we go and he picks up a reel
and I point out the particular trimmer I have as it is hanging right there.
"Oh", he says, "this won't fit that. I thought you had a gas
powered one, not electric. Here are the only ones that will fit the electric
trimmers." He hands me a tube of green ones, just like I have. I explain
these are too small, so he gives me a tube of red braids. They are thicker. I
pay the five bucks, bring them home and they spin right out of the holes as
well. I should have gotten those black ones even though the sales person said
they wouldn’t fit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I know. Why
am I whining? Such a small thing. No big deal. No, it isn't by itself. But
added to a swarm of little bug bites, it takes it toll.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Buzz, bite
--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">We had some
financial set backs during that particular summer. A diseased tree had to come
down for safety sake and cost us $2,000 and medical tests for my wife which
cost almost as much (I'll get to that later), and next month my property-school
taxes are due. We don't really have much money. Those kind of expenditures really
hurt and cause problems with the cash flow. How to I ease the pipeline a bit?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Well, my
newspaper payment was due at the beginning of that month. I have always paid it
for the year, but that is over $200. If I pay it monthly, it runs a bit more
over the year, but eases my current cash crimp. I don't want to worry about the
payments, though, so I call the paper to setup E-Z pay. With this, they
automatically bill my account each month for $17. I added a three-dollar tip,
making it $20 a month. Three days later, the first payment is taken out,
$211. Their billed me for one year plus the tip I added. Now they have messed
up my cash flow plus made me look like a real cheapskate, a three dollar tip
for the year!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I called
them up and explained. I was told they would credit my account for the
difference and I would then be billed the $20 a month. I called them on
the 7th of the month. I called them twice more. I still hadn't received my
credit and they kept telling me it will come in three or four days. I would
leave it paid for the year, but now I was concerned they will also begin
billing me the $20 a month and I'll be double-billed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Buzz-bite
--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I got a
threatening letter from the accountant of my wife's cardiologist. The one who
did those recent tests on her. It said I was seriously in arrears on payment
and I better pay up or else. This made me angry. We pay our bills and on
time. Here is what happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Our primary
physician sent my wife for a stress test, a pretty normal type thing for people
of our age. The cardiology place ran the stress test, told me wife she had a
blockage and she needed further testing post-haste. She had to get an x-ray.
They then told her the x-ray indicated blood wasn't flowing in part of her
heart. She had to get a heart catheterization immediately. They said it was
urgent she do these things. This had her a nervous wreck. All these things were
done within one week. They arranged it all. At the end of the week my wife had
the catheterization as an outpatient. No hospital stay, just the test.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Then they
told her everything was fine, no blockage, no blood flow problems, she was
perfectly healthy and they presented bills totaling almost $15,000 (that's
correct, three zeros on the end). Of course, the Medicare took care of most of
this, but we still paid nearly $1,500 out of pocket. (There may not have been
blood flow problems, but there sure was a cash flow problem. Yes, my wife was
healthy, but our bank account was feeling sickly.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">However
these bills did not come on one sheet of paper. They dripped and dribbled their
way here. I paid them as they came. However, one bill for $71 got overlooked.
Why, because it was billed earlier on one I had paid in full, except on that
bill they showed no charges for certain procedures, but when I saw this bill
repeating the same procedures I believed I had already paid, I didn't take
notice of the change of zero due to $71. Thus a bill I received dated July 11,
I actually didn't send with a payment until August 13. Hardly being seriously
in arrears in my book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">So why the
threatening letter?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Buzz, bite
--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The payment
I sent came back to me as postage due - 1 cent. That means the recipient,
the cardiologist, had refused to pay the one-cent to get the letter. It meant
my payment became even later in being received. Was this because I
misjudged the weight of the letter? Nope, it was well under an ounce and I put
a first class stamp on it. One of those "forever stamps" the post
office began issuing in 2007 when they raised the postage once again. It was
said these stamps would be good even if the postage went up again so you didn't
have to be bothered with buying a bunch of one-cent stamps. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I was so
mad I drove to my local post office to complain. The clerk (I think he was
probably the supervisor) told me what I had wasn't the "forever
stamp". Well, when I bought these stamps they told me they were. They had
no price on them like stamps used to have, so why would I disbelieve the United
States Post Office, "an official agency of the United States Government",
when they said they were?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">So the man
at the post office put a penny strip on the bill and mailed it again, then sold
me twenty one-cent stamps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Now one
little side note, as I waited in line at the Post Office, there was a couple at
the counter with the exact same complaint. They had several pieces of mail
returned to them for insignificant postage and they also had been told the
stamps they used were the "forever stamps" when they purchased them.
See, it wasn't just me having a senior moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Buzz-bite,
buzz-bite, buzz-bite...yes there are several more. The TV, phones and Internet
not working, the fact that my computer crashed and burned that month, a
distraught daughter, other things of like nature, each of which if spread out
over a long period of time would be annoying, but minor. Together within a few
weeks, one after another, they are debilitating to normal life. There are too
many to keep listing, but I will give one more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Buzz, bite
--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Midnight,
my son is standing outside in our carport. (He smokes and always goes outside
to do so since none of the rest of us engages.) The cops pull up and shine
their flood on him. They tell him they have a complaint from a neighbor that
our dog has been barking continuously for two hours. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">My dog was
17 years old and could not walk unaided. He had to be carried outside to do his
business. He was never outside more than fifteen minutes, if that. As soon as
he barks, we go out and bring him in. We have never allowed him to be
continuously barking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">We had a
similar complain five years ago. In that instance, people two doors up from us
had left their dog in the back yard and it had barked the whole day and
evening. It wasn't our dog. Neither was this time our dog. The next night
we heard a dog continuously barking from the next street over at a house with
the same street number as ours. We think either the complainant or the police
got the wrong street.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I called
the police and they were nice about it, but said they could do nothing. If
there were a serious of complaints, then they would investigate if they were
legitimate or not. It is so frustrating to be falsely accused.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Anyway,
this is why I needed that encouragement, peace, joy, faith, hope and love
offered at Tamela's Place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-28569086454153953432013-09-23T19:55:00.004-04:002013-09-23T19:55:58.563-04:00Spare Thy Sparrows<!--[if !mso]>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAbZpT_IY6Th22a2XWYabyheAbRJfQ8QWCX3SWEsYh3tBb_2mDaWcH8jy2cI9Tsvg4bYC2zBAII7qzUEkBsQ_dgRx_FsZD-mogJ2VpiAP1eW0xWdi8kTb2Y8rJm64JFFPofHEgGxnkDA/s1600/1957+013+Larry+with+Stuart+Meisel+and+Ronald+Tipton+at+Meise+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAbZpT_IY6Th22a2XWYabyheAbRJfQ8QWCX3SWEsYh3tBb_2mDaWcH8jy2cI9Tsvg4bYC2zBAII7qzUEkBsQ_dgRx_FsZD-mogJ2VpiAP1eW0xWdi8kTb2Y8rJm64JFFPofHEgGxnkDA/s320/1957+013+Larry+with+Stuart+Meisel+and+Ronald+Tipton+at+Meise+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Spare Thy Sparrows<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5459454134383047" name="ChildOfSnow"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5459454134383047" name="THUR82009"></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I have a
friend from olden days named Ronald Tipton. He does a Blog entitled
"Retired in Delaware". (http://retiredindelaware.blogspot.com/) We
met in third grade and I counted him as one of my best friends growing up. We
were parted by time and distance for several decades, but reunited via the
Internet in 2001. He was</span><span style="color: #435566; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">not the only friend from that period who I
reunited with via cyberspace. The other is Stuart Meisel, anything but retired
in Florida.</span><span style="color: #435566; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">(Photo l. to r.: The Author, His Florida Friend & Retired in Delaware, 1957)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">There is a
bond between that is unexplainable, which I believe is the case with most truly
close friends. There is much in our history, our roots and our makeup we share.
I cannot imagine life without these two as friends. When friends pickup after
four decades apart without communication where they left off those many years
ago it speaks of the magic and mystery of friendship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The
"Retired in Delaware" Blog certainly presents a worldview different
than <i>Weeping a Night; Rejoicing a Morning</i>
does. But sometimes you see further when you see different views. I don't have
to totally agree with a friend to love him or her and I would hope my friends
would feel the same. I pray for my friend often, because prayer and
Christianity are cornerstones of my worldview, and this is a way I can show
concern for the well-being of my friend's soul as well as body. I hope he takes
no offence at this. If I wished to be offensive, I would leave him out of my
prayers, which would be the same as discarding him into a field as some would
discard the eggs of a House Sparrow.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkadIRUO0gcPun2YiqmTayEkNwnw28T_X4uPTZEFpkghOLeLonPf-PP1sa6JP4i4e9QzqrG7ijlog0cdwly3H8J1eeb1mqcj1NLa1fSQ0b_Gq62ruLsRpNXeTCvIGw76BIpSmnbLa50w/s1600-h/81533330female_house_sparro.jpg"><span style="color: #435566; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">He once
wrote a moving post about just that happening. I will not give the details, go
to his site and read his post. It is sad that a creature can become as despised
as the House Sparrow has become to some. It is not entirely the bird's fault,
but a good example of "the road to hell being paved with good
intentions". The House Sparrow is one of the most populous birds in North
America, but at one time it didn't even exist here. It is not indigenous to
this part of the world, but was common in Europe and Asia. In 1851, Brooklyn,
New York was infested with little green worms and some one got the bright idea
that bringing some House Sparrows over from England would help. It was believed
House Sparrows liked to feast on little green worms. No one apparently
investigated the House Sparrows ability to reproduce or their aggressive
nesting habits. Now to many these rather cute little birds are considered a
pestilence long after the little green worms have disappeared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I think we
three old friends from long ago have felt like House Sparrows at one time or
another in our lives. Ronald, Retired in Delaware, is Gay and there are many
who would have squashed his egg in the nest too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Stuart, my
Florida friend is Jewish and as a boy lived in a decidedly non-Jewish town, and
there were those who would have discarded him in a field if they could.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I am
blatantly Christian and that is rapidly becoming politically incorrect and many
view my kind as a pest that needs to be controlled as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The Bible
speaks of the sparrow in more encouraging terms than the Birdman mentioned in
my friend's Blog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Even the sparrow has found a home,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">and the swallow a nest for herself,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">where she may have her young--<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">a place near your altar...</span></i><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Psalm 84:3</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">In ancient
Jerusalem the sparrows and the swallows used to find shelter and nest in the
corners of the Temple and were allowed to do so. No matter how lowly a creature
we may be perceived in the eyes of men, we can find comfort in the sanctuary of
God if we come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">And those
of us who say we trust in the Lord need to take comfort with those House
Sparrows so callously thrown aside for the preference of birds that sing a more
pleasing song to some ears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed
that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell
you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim
from the roofs. Do not be afraid
of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the
one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them
will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head
are all numbered. So don't be
afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Matthew 10:26-31<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-77964215186518874552013-09-21T09:34:00.000-04:002013-09-21T09:34:10.102-04:00Paths
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0L_yK-iOSedYBvsrjhcmyP6tyHt-nLGxhoQEk1rQUQi0Ax-rs7WaQEMG-i-j0xarLSTUqDdl4Z6WWA15orZ6UXa9D6ftKfFWpFcZfqWzbpKnGdYdJEAq-q-L2NCsOeKKqCk7b3MD4mEo/s1600/2004+427+Jul+17+Bellevue+State+Park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0L_yK-iOSedYBvsrjhcmyP6tyHt-nLGxhoQEk1rQUQi0Ax-rs7WaQEMG-i-j0xarLSTUqDdl4Z6WWA15orZ6UXa9D6ftKfFWpFcZfqWzbpKnGdYdJEAq-q-L2NCsOeKKqCk7b3MD4mEo/s320/2004+427+Jul+17+Bellevue+State+Park.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Some years
back on our way home from somewhere I stubborned my way into the heart of Allentown,
Pennsylvania. You know how we men can be—“don't worry, wife, as long as the
road's heading south, we'll get where we're going.” Allentown, Pennsylvania was
not the "get" where we were going. It didn't seem a big deal until we
passed this same water tower the third time. I turned down this street and we
came to the water tower. I tried that street and we came to the water tower. I
tried another street and we came to the water tower. I heard it said that all
roads lead to Rome and there are many different paths to God, but apparently
all roads and paths lead to a water tower in Allentown, Pennsylvania. But it
wasn't our intended destination. Our home was where we wanted to go, but
without a map and a clear knowledge of the roads we had gotten lost and stuck
where we did not desire to be. To resort to a cliché, we were going around in
circles.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Speaking of
clichés, we went to Niagara Falls on our honeymoon. The AAA provided detailed</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk79B9R5ih8Lb3hoTFGG_feOZt_PZPbYBl8IbvPePZW1_4NQhfw5W0k-kZjayzHXo9beEo3k92eH2KHgAgcx88KlTn6y2mqaOFsI4Y4PD0SwKknF_JfMAKaituSRwBHDBSnVr-6f7FWqk/s1600/1961+09++17-26++110+Sep+Honeymoon++Niagra+Falls+Ont.+Horseshoe+Falls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk79B9R5ih8Lb3hoTFGG_feOZt_PZPbYBl8IbvPePZW1_4NQhfw5W0k-kZjayzHXo9beEo3k92eH2KHgAgcx88KlTn6y2mqaOFsI4Y4PD0SwKknF_JfMAKaituSRwBHDBSnVr-6f7FWqk/s320/1961+09++17-26++110+Sep+Honeymoon++Niagra+Falls+Ont.+Horseshoe+Falls.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
maps of the most scenic route through New England and Canada with all the
attractions noted. For most of the two weeks the weather was beautiful, but the
day we reached Montpelier, Vermont, it rained.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">We were at
the State Capital wishing to view the building up close, but not wishing to get
wet, so I suggested we drive this road that seemingly circled the structure.
(Have you noticed on these trips it is I so sure of the way?)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I drove
around the building on the right, but we never came back out on the left.
Somehow what seemed a circle was not and we were soon out of town driving
through fields and woods. As we progressed (stubbornly again) the road grew
more narrow and then turned to gravel instead of macadam. Occasionally we'd
cross another bi-way, but the street markers were now rough cut, hand-painted
boards. At one break in the woods there was an open pasture up a hill. Near the
top was a small house out of which streamed a line of children who stood waving
as we passed as if welcoming visitors from another world. (Perhaps we were.)
Eventually I came to my senses (my wife told me to turn around) and since
"the way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to
advice" </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Proverbs
12:15</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">, I turned around and
back-tracked to Montpelier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Even with a
very well defined map, a small diversion had taken us from the planned destination
and gotten us lost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">What has
all this to do with musings and ruminations about my personal journey to God?
Kind of a lot. I've chosen a lot of different roads on that journey and I
thought for half my life if I was sincere in my choice, it didn't matter, I'd
get there. Any road going south would get me home, not trapped in Allentown.
Anywhere I turned off would get me to Niagara Falls, not lost in a backwoods of
Vermont. It didn't matter which path I took to God, as long as I sincerely
followed that path I would get there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But now
here's a thought I think about. In my community I have a good friend living two
doors down my street. If I want to get to my friend's house, I walk out my
front door, turn left and walk down the street to his place. Now one could say
that is not the only way to my friend's. You could say there are other ways to
my friend's from my house and you would be correct...to a degree. I could come
out my front door and turn right and walk up my street to various cross
streets. I could turn down any one of these cross streets in any direction and
go until I came to another street, turn onto it and eventually circle around to
my street and come up to my friend's from his other side. But the truth is, if
I were to do that I am really walking away from my friend and unless I turn
around and walk in his direction, I will never reach him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1027"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUnjchGlQ25T3bYH1DupXdCOv6KDz44-wT5KmcytD6nAJWL5R0OyxXq4aaTYaJeUIU41LoC-SFUR7XSw3W1DDjbMp-zftmSO3LS7EZQP6FndhBWrgfg452Hu3SzW1yCeDl-7VajISD2w/s1600/2007+07+24+Walk+to+the+park+022+Honeywell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUnjchGlQ25T3bYH1DupXdCOv6KDz44-wT5KmcytD6nAJWL5R0OyxXq4aaTYaJeUIU41LoC-SFUR7XSw3W1DDjbMp-zftmSO3LS7EZQP6FndhBWrgfg452Hu3SzW1yCeDl-7VajISD2w/s320/2007+07+24+Walk+to+the+park+022+Honeywell.jpg" width="320" /></a><i><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor
to be hasty and miss the way.</span></i><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><i><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Proverbs</span></i><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></i><i><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">19:2<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span></i><!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-41499151371515420192013-05-23T14:07:00.000-04:002013-05-23T14:07:19.397-04:00Abandon Place
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNqqCFbGBvSrx7oHLJsEX_bg85F-JkOMR-yfcmGpX08H2ITjJn4AXIutanWrXAXllYI2naPCrkhXMDvVS-ZBpX5b0wSEgovnRWYeYAreN3B_SM0OHqmOUkBICrIyji4raXEtsxATw_GU/s1600/1948+08+Larry+with+Peppy+Glenloch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNqqCFbGBvSrx7oHLJsEX_bg85F-JkOMR-yfcmGpX08H2ITjJn4AXIutanWrXAXllYI2naPCrkhXMDvVS-ZBpX5b0wSEgovnRWYeYAreN3B_SM0OHqmOUkBICrIyji4raXEtsxATw_GU/s400/1948+08+Larry+with+Peppy+Glenloch.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">We people
sometimes have difficulty dealing with inconsistency. We like to hold on to the
way things were or places that we are. But life - living - is not consistent.
Excluding any cliché about the certainty of taxes, I see three constants you
can count on with assurance: change, the past is past and death. We can be at
peace with our lives if we recognize these three. (God is consistent, but I am
only talking of our current, physical world.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Everything
changes. You and I change. Just go get an old photograph of yourself and then
look in the mirror.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Look at
this photo. The house </span><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75"
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alt="1948 008 Larry With Peppy at Glenlock" style='position:absolute;left:0;
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o:title="1948 008 Larry With Peppy at Glenlock"/>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">which steps the boy sits upon was torn down two
decades ago for a parking lot. The dog died almost 50 years ago. The boy, who
is I, is many years older and believe me, I've changed. I wouldn't want to be a
seven-year-old forever. Would you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">And
everything is different now than then. Telephones were clunky, black and on
party lines, and you had to ask an operator to connect you to another party. No
little portable phones in the pocket with built in cameras and text messaging.
And speaking of cameras, they weren't digital. They held film and you had to
take it to the drugstore for developing and usually wait a week before you
actually got to see your pictures. When that photo of me and Peppy (the dog) was
taken, there were no TVs in people's homes, let alone high-definition, plasma
flat screen monstrosities. There were no DVDs or CDs either. When that photo
was taken, you had 78-rpm hard-vinyl records to play on your record player if
you wanted music.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2"
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style='width:343pt;height:193pt;visibility:visible'>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Not just
technology has changed, but the landscape has as well. That area where that
photo was taken was mostly fields and pasture, but now it is a continuous line
of malls. Even the weather has changed. The climate has been changing, warming
and cooling, since this planet came into existence. Everything changes that you
can be sure about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNBqwGcgre3tvQz2elvcEO4quRTdZZsBDIkX1IiCOK7uk7P0j70EixnwvKpno_dyrdeMcBARkqrlyhAv_tWIGbb2J1xtqk_hT8FFTCAnWTvevv2DCmsixuBAPziKXbkR7ATMpRWdMx_g/s1600/2004+104+Apr+Downingtown+FFB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNBqwGcgre3tvQz2elvcEO4quRTdZZsBDIkX1IiCOK7uk7P0j70EixnwvKpno_dyrdeMcBARkqrlyhAv_tWIGbb2J1xtqk_hT8FFTCAnWTvevv2DCmsixuBAPziKXbkR7ATMpRWdMx_g/s320/2004+104+Apr+Downingtown+FFB.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_3"
o:spid="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="2004 104 Apr Downingtown FFB"
style='width:337pt;height:253pt;visibility:visible'>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">There is
something that doesn't change. The past is past. The photo of the boy and dog
is in the past. That moment on those steps happened and is over. I can't go
back and straighten the boy's cap for the portrait. I can't go back and save
the house from rubble or its foundation from beneath macadam. I can't continue
to mourn my pet for that will not make Peppy rest in my arms again. Why should
I dwell in the past and let it dictate my feelings or what I do now? There are
people who mull over and over their past, continue to cry for things long gone
or wring their hands in guilt about deeds they did. If you did wrong then move
on and do right in the now of your life. If someone did wrong to you in the
past, forgive him or her and forget the hurt and stop being a prisoner to their
misdeed. What good does it do you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Our nostalgic hearts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Are only placated by<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Abandoning done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Do you
understand my haiku? Humans are nostalgic about their memories, which are fine
if we sometimes reminisce about people dear to us that have gone from our lives
as a moment of fondness, but nostalgia for the past can be a millstone about
our neck if we pine or fret about it. The past is past. Done is done. To live
life fully now, you need to abandon what is done, because you cannot make it
different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I suppose
it is trite to say there is only now. But that is true. This is not an
endorsement of Eckhart Tolle, but now is it and that is where you should be
living. (Jesus taught living in the now long ago: </span><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">"<i>Therefore do not
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own.”</i></span></b><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Matthew
6:34</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">) You can't undo the
past, so why live there and you can't live in the future because it doesn't
exist yet and when it does exist it will be the now. You need to make
reasonable plans for your future, certainly, but you can't put off your now for
what you plan to do or be in the future. What you want to be, be now. The only
certainty in the future is our third constant. You will die.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvR60MbT-e1-B1OEy7JU_iFTuxCB9IzT8Hab06RF4QNlVgtzJYJTDu-Vk2T9YPiSPRO59p3o7JdtAtAKsv5u_7xHsX1d2OkWo9oYS41Zkthi1tf_kwzO-B9-35Zc5QLz-swgQWAhhzkwo/s1600/2004+Grove+Methodist-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvR60MbT-e1-B1OEy7JU_iFTuxCB9IzT8Hab06RF4QNlVgtzJYJTDu-Vk2T9YPiSPRO59p3o7JdtAtAKsv5u_7xHsX1d2OkWo9oYS41Zkthi1tf_kwzO-B9-35Zc5QLz-swgQWAhhzkwo/s320/2004+Grove+Methodist-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Everything living
that is of this world dies. Every tree in the forest will die. Every blade of
grass in your yard will die. Every butterfly that flutters by will die. Death
is just a natural part of life. Don't </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">concern yourself with death; concern
yourself with living to the utmost knowing that someday you will die. Enjoy and
embrace each moment as if it were your last, because it might be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Knowing that every one around you will also die
should make you show kindness and love to them, to do your best to not waste a
moment of their precious time dealing with misery inflicted by you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">In my case,
I love life here on this earth. I thrill at the diversity and beauty around me.
Still, I despair at the darker side of this place. I try not to add to that
aspect. And I pray for those I know that their lives would be untouched by
heartbreak and sorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">For me
change is part of the journey. The past was lessons that I hope have made me
better. And death is simply a doorway from the downside of this world to an
eternity where tears don't exist and certainty does.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-83017621497763095572013-03-15T17:08:00.000-04:002013-03-15T17:08:28.645-04:00II SOME QUESTIONS
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I’m Writing this on Sunday Am I Breaking the
Sabbath?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it
holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and
do all your work. Deuteronomy 5:12-13</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Some
conversation came up about how we should behave on Sunday. Is it
all right to go out to eat in a restaurant or shop at the mall? Should anyone
even be working in a restaurant or a mall on Sunday? If we engage in Sunday
activities outside worship will we be so much like everyone else we will be a
stumbling block between the unsaved coming to Christ?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Here are my
personal views about this question. This is my opinion. We must each reach our
own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The Ten
Commandants definitely say to observe the Sabbath and keep it Holy. The
Commandment goes on to say we must not do any work on that day and no one we
are associated with should work on that day. The Laws of Moses go even further
in explaining the restrictions of the Sabbath and the religious leaders of
those times added further rules.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The penalty
for breaking the Sabbath was pretty emphatic -- death. (Take a look at Numbers
15:32-36. That guy was just gathering some firewood to keep warm or perhaps
cook a meal on the Sabbath and what happened? Look it up.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I will be
leaving for Sunday School and Church shortly. I will get home around 11:30 AM,
just about lunchtime. I didn't prepare a sandwich yesterday, so can I make
myself one for lunch? Not under the Law, if I am observing today as the
Sabbath. I am forebade from preparing any meals on the Sabbath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I am a
Philadelphia Eagles fan. They are on Sunday Night Football. I will be getting
home from this evening's Bible Study at church just in time to watch the game.
Am I breaking the Sabbath by doing so? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Well,
perhaps not. Technically a day, in the pattern of Creation, is an evening and a
morning, a day. The Sabbath begins at sundown and runs until the next sundown,
so tonight's game is being played on Monday - technically - according to
Biblical rules.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Do I break
it when I watch them play in the afternoon between church services?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Again,
technically no, because the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, again set
in the pattern of Creation. Sunday is the first day of the week, the day God
began his Creating. Friday sundown until Saturday sundown is the Sabbath. I
went to the store yesterday. My wife and I were out to dinner last evening
(well that was after sundown, so we may be safe there). We did work about the
house. My son was at work. My daughters were both working yesterday and will
today. (They both work at Animal Shelters and sheltered animals need care seven
days a week, not just six. Jesus said: </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">"You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his
ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?</span></i></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> Luke 13:15</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: red;">"If any of you
has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of
it and lift it out? How
much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on
the Sabbath."</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> Matthew 10:11-12. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">So it is
probably fine they are taking care of animals in need.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But what
about the rest of we Christians who ate out, did shopping, took a ride, took a
walk, raked leaves, cleaned the house, had the car serviced, went to work, got
a haircut, cooked a meal, etc. yesterday and/or today?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Shall we
pick up some stones and begin throwing them at each other?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">And again,
at which time do we break the Sabbath? Sundown Friday to sundown Saturday?
Sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday? All day Saturday? All day Sunday? Is Sunday
really the New Testament Sabbath at all?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Here is the
Fourth Commandment as stated in Deuteronomy 5:12-15:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as
the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your
work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall
not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or
maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien
within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you
out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD
your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkC3kLN1ydu7T8ScB31zDnSXlKK2ndAYtDGZn6xWnb1SlQKRmcpnt7xZCeGxqKrDfb4cwC0rXC9_eMO_TxscVNayvedeZv2GXt21WaddI6AF-0ZxbjNoTE0r5C1fU_vlNuI6OUTsXUQY/s1600/1976+Laurel+Springs+Church-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkC3kLN1ydu7T8ScB31zDnSXlKK2ndAYtDGZn6xWnb1SlQKRmcpnt7xZCeGxqKrDfb4cwC0rXC9_eMO_TxscVNayvedeZv2GXt21WaddI6AF-0ZxbjNoTE0r5C1fU_vlNuI6OUTsXUQY/s320/1976+Laurel+Springs+Church-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Is Sunday the New Sabbath?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">So then, just as you
received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in
him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with
thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and
deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles
of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:6-8</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I do not
believe Sunday is the Christian Sabbath or a new Sabbath. This is strictly my
opinion. It is not come to lightly. You need to form your own opinion through
your own prayer and study. Anyway, here is my understanding.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The Jews
lived under the Law until the coming of Christ. After Christ came the Church,
the Body of Christ made up by His believers. The Body of Christ is under Grace.
God will deal with the Church for a period of time, but He is not finished
dealing with the Jews. God has in a sense set the Jews aside for the moment,
but He has made promises to them yet unfulfilled. Eventually, God will remove
his Church and again deal with the Jews. But it will not be under the Law, but
under Grace.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The Jews
today cannot practice all the demands of the Law (nor can the Church). God
removed from them the ability to perform the sacrifices required for their
atonement and worship when the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. This God warned
he would do and He did. When Christ came, he stated the Old Testament was about
Him and he said He had come to fulfill the Law, not to destroy it. Certainly,
much of the Law remains to guide us: have no other gods, honor our father and
mother, do not murder or steal and so forth. But many things in the Law, once
fulfilled in Christ, became unnecessary. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">When the
sheet of creatures was lowered to Peter in a vision and Peter was told to take
and eat, it was a sign to the Apostles it was all right to preach the Gospel to
gentiles. It was also permission from that point for people to eat foods
formally banned under the Law.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I believe
this is also the case with the Fourth Commandment.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">"Observe the
Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six
days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to
the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son
or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or
any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant
and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember
that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of
there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God
has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. Deuteronomy 5:12-15. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">This Commandment
was given with an explanation for its practice, a remembrance "that you were
slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out..." Who is the
'you'? I am not of Jewish decent. I descended from Japheth, not from Shem.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I believe Jesus
gave us a new Commandment of observation in place of this one as Christians. </span><b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">"Take this bread, which is my body...take this wine
which is my blood shed for you...do this in remembrance of Me".</span></i></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But this command
is not tied to a certain day. Many churches practice Communion on the first
Sunday of the month. Some churches do this every Sunday. The Catholic Church
performs Holy Communion daily, some times more than once a day. But
Communion doesn't have to be performed in a church or by a minister or priest.
Anywhere a few of us gather, we can perform Communion amongst ourselves. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Keep in mind, there
were other rules around Sabbaths and there were Sabbaths beyond the seventh
day. There was even a Sabbath year. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">" 'Count off seven Sabbaths of years—seven
times seven years—so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to a period of
forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of
the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your
land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the
land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is
to return to his family property and each to his own clan. The fiftieth
year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of
itself or harvest the untended vines. For it is a jubilee and is to be
holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> " 'In this
Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to his own property.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> " 'If you
sell land to one of your countrymen or buy any from him, do not take advantage
of each other. You are to
buy from your countryman on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee.
And he is to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for
harvesting crops. When the years are many, you are to increase the price, and
when the years are few, you are to decrease the price, because what he is
really selling you is the number of crops. Do not take advantage of each other,
but fear your God. I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 25:8-17</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">If we are
to argue the Sabbath Day applies to us, then shouldn't the Sabbath and Jubilee
Years apply as well? But we don't even give them a thought. (I believe the
Sabbath Year is a portend of a future event, but I'm not going there right
now.)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Just as God
predicted He would send the Messiah and that He would tear down the Temple, he
predicted the Jews would lose their land and be scattered throughout the world
until one day He would bring them back and restore them. He also predicted He
would take away their sacrifices, Sabbaths and feasts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I will stop all her
celebrations: her yearly festivals, her New Moons, her Sabbath days—all her appointed feasts. I will ruin her
vines and her fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers;
I will
make them a thicket, and wild animals will devour them. I will punish her
for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and
jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot," declares the LORD.</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">"Therefore I am
now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to
her. There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley
of Achor a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as
in the day she came up out of Egypt. "In that day," declares the
LORD,
"you will call me 'my husband';
you will no longer call me 'my
master. 'I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will
their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them with
the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move
along the ground.
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish from the land,
so
that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever;
I will
betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion. I
will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD. In
that day I will respond," declares the LORD—
"I will respond to the
skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to
the grain, the new wine and oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel. I will
plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not
my loved one. ' I will say to those called 'Not my people, ' 'You are my
people';
and they will say, 'You are my God.' " Hosea 2:2-23</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">God has promised to take away
their Sabbaths, I don't think he has promised to bring that practice back. I
think the need to remember they were slaves in Egypt will be replaced by the
celebration of His freeing them, as us, from the slavery of sin.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">But even so, what about we
Christians? Are we bound by the regulations of the Sabbath? I believe Paul has
made it clear we are not in Colossians 2:9-23:</span><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">For in
Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been
given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In
him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful
nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the
circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised
with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">When you
were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful
nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, <b>having
canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that
stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross</b>. And having
disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them by the cross.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><i> <b>Therefore
do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a
religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.</b> These are a
shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in
Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of
angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about
what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He
has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held
together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.</i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><i> Since
you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you
still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not
taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because
they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an
appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and
their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining
sensual indulgence.</i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Now, as to
the question of our shopping or going to a restaurant or working on a Sunday being
a stumbling block to others; I think if we behave in a righteous, but humble
manner, treating others as we would be treated, letting people know of our
faith and the Gospel, there is less risk of being a stumbling block to the
unbeliever than if we practice overzealous piety.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">There is
nothing wrong, in my view, if someone wishes to dedicate the whole of Sunday to
worship of the Lord, as long as they keep it between the Lord and themselves.
There is a risk we may become in this like the Pharisees who prayed loudly in
public to be seen by men or those who put on ashes and a sad face to show
everyone they were fasting. This could become a greater stumbling block than our
obeying our employer (as we are commanded to do) and working on Sunday if
ordered, or joining with friends for lunch after church, or enjoining a sports
event, as long as we don't put God secondary in our lives.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Personally,
my opinion again, I think Sunday, as our day of group worship is tradition, not
Scripture. It has some basis in the Sabbath and in early Christian practice,
and we certainly should see to it there is a day of rest for one and all, but I
don't think we are under the yoke of some Law.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
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</span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbw8RjUDkcBXboeM4iy8uHRliLAIP-gVwhIZXxxv04XyzbCqDQZNXxerW56eyOwhqXiggS5_yTUNI9muNbs-AtEmzi8B1hC5jvU7pMPbVIKh6utidnjrs6qbvex09qVe6gr-u7R8ocZM/s1600/BrideofChrist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbw8RjUDkcBXboeM4iy8uHRliLAIP-gVwhIZXxxv04XyzbCqDQZNXxerW56eyOwhqXiggS5_yTUNI9muNbs-AtEmzi8B1hC5jvU7pMPbVIKh6utidnjrs6qbvex09qVe6gr-u7R8ocZM/s320/BrideofChrist.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Could God be a Preacher in Your Church?<a href="" name="cc"></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1026"
type="#_x0000_t75" alt="BrideofChrist" style='width:378pt;height:270pt;
visibility:visible'>
<v:imagedata src="file://localhost/Users/nitewrite/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_image005.jpg"
o:title="BrideofChrist"/>
<v:textbox style='mso-rotate-with-shape:t'/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Divorce and
remarriage are topics of debate among some Christians. Is divorce ever
acceptable? Is it okay to remarry, especially for the innocent party of a
divorce? Does it count if the marriage was to a nonbeliever? Should a minister
perform the marriage of a divorced person? Should a divorced person ever be
ordained as a minister? Would your church allow a divorced person to preach?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Lots of
questions, none of which I am going to address here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But here is
a question to think about. Would God be allowed to preach in your church?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Well, of
course, what a stupid question.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Would he
though? After all, God is divorced. And not only did God divorce, he is
remarrying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">How could
that be? Isn't divorce considered a sin, isn't it forbidden, how could God sin
against God?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">God can't
sin against Himself and divorce isn't totally forbidden. This is what Jesus
said about divorce in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:31-32): </span><b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">"It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her
a certificate of divorce. But I tell you that anyone who divorces his
wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress,
and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery."</span></i></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">So, Jesus
tells us divorce is acceptable if the spouse has been sexually unfaithful
("</span><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">save for the
matter of whoredom"</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> in the
literal translation<i>). </i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But whom did God
divorce? And who says He did?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">God says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Jeremiah 3:6-10: During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD
said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up
on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery
there. I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but
she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. I gave faithless
Israel her certificate of divorce and
sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful
sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery.
Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the
land and committed adultery with stone and wood. In spite of all this,
her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only
in pretense," declares the LORD.</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">God looked upon
Israel as his Bride, but she was unfaithful and committed adulteries. God
justifiably divorced Israel.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Now he has a new
Bride and new marriage in the Body of Believers.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But wait, even if
the divorce was justified, could God be breaking the vows of marriage? Isn't
there something about "until death do ye part" in there? Israel
hasn't died. It's right there on the map and in the news a lot.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">And God didn't
die.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Ah, yes, He did,
for you and for me, on a cross at Calvary. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But He overcame
death and He awaits his Bride in Heaven. And it is all according to Hoyle. I
pray you are among the body of believers and will join in the marriage supper
of the Lamb as the Bride.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">(The illustration
of "The Bride of Christ" appeared on several websites, but I could
not find it attributed to any artist.)</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"><br clear="ALL" style="page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6aqA3V-BnnDGYnzKF6zbndh8-1qIeOvxsd1QZXwxY_UgqSqTnfiYa-zYrxy2JNlIM3H1z3A4aQ6wgmR3dvWGn6NCqlgZrUvlP3I2-BQrjGH4V3RR3kP8aNsBwXg64NURmztrKDeSDgQ/s1600/bible1250ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6aqA3V-BnnDGYnzKF6zbndh8-1qIeOvxsd1QZXwxY_UgqSqTnfiYa-zYrxy2JNlIM3H1z3A4aQ6wgmR3dvWGn6NCqlgZrUvlP3I2-BQrjGH4V3RR3kP8aNsBwXg64NURmztrKDeSDgQ/s320/bible1250ad.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">What Do We Know; When Did We Know It?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">During a group
discussion I, as a Christian, disagreed with something said. The person began
apologizing. I told them that </span><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1027"
type="#_x0000_t75" alt="bible1250ad" style='position:absolute;left:0;
text-align:left;margin-left:0;margin-top:0;width:189pt;height:260pt;z-index:251653120;
visibility:visible;mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;
mso-position-vertical-relative:text' o:allowoverlap="f">
<v:imagedata src="file://localhost/Users/nitewrite/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_image007.jpg"
o:title="bible1250ad"/>
<v:textbox style='mso-rotate-with-shape:t'/>
<w:wrap type="square"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->weren’t<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> necessary. He said he didn't know a lot about Christianity. I
said I wasn't being judgmental, I just didn't agree with him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">This led to
a brief discussion of Christianity and the Bible. It was said more than once,
"I didn't know that", although everyone in the group had been raised
in a "Christian" home. Still, with some exceptions, the group has
been very critical of religion in general and Christianity especially. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Another
person said he knew little about what was in the Bible, but how could it
be accurate when it was basically hearsay; after all, most of what it
tells about happened before man knew how to write. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGqUQiHpPtfE13tWBC9aeN7tPXWP8nk9U8Lk5GvnS1MoUtX6msiE86NBI5Zhk07b2dFKhONu_YWHDX3Q8twRwlGTNdoZXUvLDZgHK2zcZ_7sKoCExWlAutJP0RTtvRJNzp_BWoUBV0w0/s1600/goddessboat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGqUQiHpPtfE13tWBC9aeN7tPXWP8nk9U8Lk5GvnS1MoUtX6msiE86NBI5Zhk07b2dFKhONu_YWHDX3Q8twRwlGTNdoZXUvLDZgHK2zcZ_7sKoCExWlAutJP0RTtvRJNzp_BWoUBV0w0/s320/goddessboat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I didn't
know when man first learned to write, I said, but Moses grew up in ancient Egypt
and they probably knew how to write, but I wasn't positive. But you know what I
do when something comes into my life I don't know? I look it up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_s1028"
type="#_x0000_t75" alt="goddessboat" style='position:absolute;left:0;
text-align:left;margin-left:181.05pt;margin-top:-29.4pt;width:264pt;height:197pt;
z-index:251654144;visibility:visible'>
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o:title="goddessboat"/>
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<w:wrap type="square"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The Egyptians had papyrus and ink and started the
first libraries about 2500 BC. If you have a need for libraries, you probably
have been writing books for a while. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_5" o:spid="_x0000_s1029"
type="#_x0000_t75" alt="code_of_hammurabi_01" style='position:absolute;left:0;
text-align:left;margin-left:1.05pt;margin-top:22pt;width:4in;height:343pt;
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DufPIUcaNRzwmzLf_5j9i8DGH50qPqXkD2JcwnaLceoZ68U-s96u3xf_0zfVizN0SBLxckxTLg_-vDMXBhg0F4bUgqEec0r3pCEclh3_jfM79NfXnABLGOtRizfNCUYtGfwqYsLoAy4/s1600/code_of_hammurabi_01.smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DufPIUcaNRzwmzLf_5j9i8DGH50qPqXkD2JcwnaLceoZ68U-s96u3xf_0zfVizN0SBLxckxTLg_-vDMXBhg0F4bUgqEec0r3pCEclh3_jfM79NfXnABLGOtRizfNCUYtGfwqYsLoAy4/s320/code_of_hammurabi_01.smaller.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Hammurabi
wrote his first legal codes (on the left) for Babylon around 1750 BC.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">So when was
the Bible written? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">There are
66 books in the Protestant Bible (The Catholic Bible includes 16 additional
called the Apocrypha). The books were written by different people over several
hundreds of years. The last book, <i>Revelation (</i>or<i> The Apocalypse of
St. John the Apostle</i> in the Catholic Bible) was written by John
in 95 AD. <i>[It is singular, Revelation, not Revelations as commonly
called.] </i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Obviously
mankind knew how to write by 95 AD, but what about the earliest books of the
Bible, those in the Old Testament?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT__CqfrJq7oLUdFRO2UhTAz0Mukjcrwo0zZdn3aSw3dkyduyaQU8xSnguUTO-tyb4AP-BLCDenqIxY_MDrfiN51P9zjCSBp3gZI5qOUhV_obZAUDHy400wShC9m_wTjC0kCQlatAUHIk/s1600/scroll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT__CqfrJq7oLUdFRO2UhTAz0Mukjcrwo0zZdn3aSw3dkyduyaQU8xSnguUTO-tyb4AP-BLCDenqIxY_MDrfiN51P9zjCSBp3gZI5qOUhV_obZAUDHy400wShC9m_wTjC0kCQlatAUHIk/s320/scroll.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Remember,
the books of the Bible are not arranged chronologically. Many scholars believe
the oldest book of the Bible is <i>Job</i>. No one is exactly sure who wrote
this book, some believe Job did, some believe Moses did and some believe it was
Solomon or Elihu. Likewise, no one is absolutely certain when Job lived, but
most place him in the time of the Patriarchs, between 2000 BC and 1800 BC. This
would be 500 or so years after Egypt was constructing libraries, so mankind
knew how to read and write.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_3" o:spid="_x0000_s1030"
type="#_x0000_t75" alt="scroll" style='position:absolute;left:0;text-align:left;
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o:title="scroll"/>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">We
generally think of the oldest books of the Bible to be the early histories, the
first part of the Jewish Tanakh, the five books attributed to Moses. Moses
was born in 1526 BC. At least a thousand years after writing was commonplace in
Egypt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKRhzKNsvpSTbvU5k6ghoa0z2BEFCPSvEBj49K_pL7z49phk4C2CawxVcLUr7wNu2HYLEsnx4OsZPwrlYsOReqfi3qIY7yg9hu9Knr-tEgB_qGGnv3cdnh27Amiuy0ILG6Tq6JFqdHj4/s1600/Babylonian_tablet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvKRhzKNsvpSTbvU5k6ghoa0z2BEFCPSvEBj49K_pL7z49phk4C2CawxVcLUr7wNu2HYLEsnx4OsZPwrlYsOReqfi3qIY7yg9hu9Knr-tEgB_qGGnv3cdnh27Amiuy0ILG6Tq6JFqdHj4/s320/Babylonian_tablet.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_6" o:spid="_x0000_s1031"
type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Babylonian_tablet" style='position:absolute;left:0;
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o:title="Babylonian_tablet"/>
<v:textbox style='mso-rotate-with-shape:t'/>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But could Job and Moses write? Just because
writing was around didn't mean everyone could do it. Maybe the common man couldn't
read in those days. Maybe only people who were Egyptian or Babylonian or
Assyrian knew anything about writing. After all, Chinese literature was
just beginning in 1400 BC. Of course, literature implies more than mere
writing. If literature is being done, then there was certainly
writing before it, lists and legal documents, that sort of thing at least.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But China
was far away and Job and Moses were not Chinese or Egyptian for that matter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">However,
they were not the common man either. Job, like Abraham (born 2166), was a rich
and powerful man. Both of them would have dealt with varied people in life and
this would include Egyptians. They probably knew how to write and keep records.
They did live when mankind knew how to write.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">And Moses
had been raised and lived as an Egyptian Prince until the age of 40. He would
have been a well-educated man who knew how to read and write. He was also
aware of the treatment of the Hebrew slaves when he discovered he was also a
Hebrew. And what did I say I do when something comes into my life I
didn't know? I look it up. I will speculate that Moses began to look up some
history on the Hebrews. I would also speculate there were written records of
the Patriarchs somewhere. After all, Abraham's great grandson, Joseph, had once
been a high official in Egypt and Joseph must have known how to read and write.
Joseph may have kept notes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But it
doesn't matter where Moses got all his information. Most of what he wrote about
happened during his lifetime. The fact remains that the Bible did come about
when mankind knew how to write. As far as what it contains back before writing
was invented, I would say the first 11 chapters of Genesis is it. This is only
a small percentage of the Bible, about .9%. The other 99.1% happened during the
period of writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">After
Chapter 11 of Genesis we begin with the history of Abraham, who was born a few
hundred years after mankind began writing. The events occurring before 2500 BC,
just before we begin the descriptions of Abraham, were the Flood and the
Creation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I have no
problem with the truth of these early events, because I believe in God and that
he preserves His Word. After all, if God could reveal to Daniel and John events
that will happen in the future, it should have been a piece of cake to show
Moses the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But even on
a secular basis I would think the beliefs of this people would have come down
to the Biblical writers pretty much in tact. Why? Because if we had no
means of recording things, other than passing it word of mouth from one
generation to another, we would be very, very careful in doing so. We would
tell our story to the next generation over and over; constantly checking they
had it memorized it exactly. It wouldn't be a careless presentation like the
game of "Whispering down the lane". We can see this even later when
writing was known. The scribes were very careful in copying older manuscripts
exactly, catching every jot and tittle. The existing fragments of the oldest
Bible books agree. Certainly there was some transcribing error, but there was
very little, because these things were too important. We can find some minor
discrepancies, usually in measures of something, where it was easy to mistake a
quantity, but not in important issues of substance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But what do we know; when did we know it? I have
given dates for certain occurrences in this post from sources I trust. There
are other sources, which may give different dates. There is little we can
find where all agree. This is why I say everything anyone believes is based on
faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImWTHMzR_I8aK9rYpVwgn9s70LJdS-d9NhblaKbW6nrZqpm52TpzFiKLaEysPTdMIJKmxb_j7EAsxYJEJzMn7hNGr9eDHwvoVjFrO3B3_j9pAf5axRf_kXcQbAKDl-v6Uydz9vzP_LVA/s1600/001+1940+10+Grandmother+Emma+Vance++Heaney+on+Iroquis+Reservation+SD+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImWTHMzR_I8aK9rYpVwgn9s70LJdS-d9NhblaKbW6nrZqpm52TpzFiKLaEysPTdMIJKmxb_j7EAsxYJEJzMn7hNGr9eDHwvoVjFrO3B3_j9pAf5axRf_kXcQbAKDl-v6Uydz9vzP_LVA/s320/001+1940+10+Grandmother+Emma+Vance++Heaney+on+Iroquis+Reservation+SD+02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">My wife is
one-quarter Native American. Her paternal grandmother was a full-blooded Native
American. Let me ask a question. When and how did the first Native Americans
get here? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">One source
says Native Americans immigrated to North America from North Asia in 2000 BC.
Another source says they came between 15,000 and 30,000 BCE. *** Another source
is more precise. It says the Native Americans came in 14,300 and something BCE.
Other sources make their own guesses. Some Native American Tribes claim
they didn't come from anywhere, they were always here. They would be the only Native
Americans then. Those we insist on calling Native Americans are really Asian
Americans who have been around here a long time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">And how did
they get here, assuming those true Native Americans are wrong about always
being here. What I was taught in school was Asians crossed the land
bridge between North Asia and Alaska. But others say they crossed an ice
bridge in generally the same region. Others say they island hopped across the
Pacific, going from island to island and finally to America. Others believe
they sailed here on rafts. Some even say they were put here by space ships.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">My point
is, nobody knows. Pick your time and your method and put your faith in it being
correct. All is in the end faith. I have faith that the Bible is the Word of
God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #d10000; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the
man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #000399; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">***<i> (Note how subtly our world has moved to
remove the word Christ from everything. It is no longer BC, before Christ. It
is now BCE, before the current era. Boy, before the current era, that certainly
pinpoints the time for you, doesn't it? Just what event determines the current
era? Is it 1500 AD? When I had History in college that was the demarcation for
"modern civilization"? Or is BCE still tagged to the birth of Christ?
I really don't know. I guess I'll have to look it up.)</i></span><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">
</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-46068812456300583602013-03-12T19:13:00.000-04:002013-03-15T16:21:21.912-04:00III MORE QUESTIONS <!--[if !mso]>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">What is</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">God’s Sex</span><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgii1bOdT7qNMl37qRWtRDXrr7tG4jh1-QzdsQIhEb776TCieSmXc9QHKE8TEj68_TbJgxZQJzkjtCKnepLuvGtl7Syhi4RdgFH3VGD7psqy3O7mUgJrrG5Tg7vdv00HyPUaUf2q6srt20/s1600/2-creation-of-adam-michelangelo11327468749912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgii1bOdT7qNMl37qRWtRDXrr7tG4jh1-QzdsQIhEb776TCieSmXc9QHKE8TEj68_TbJgxZQJzkjtCKnepLuvGtl7Syhi4RdgFH3VGD7psqy3O7mUgJrrG5Tg7vdv00HyPUaUf2q6srt20/s400/2-creation-of-adam-michelangelo11327468749912.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZa2Vekcrrd8-XbUgYMJ_epjejVdXNxgDhT_aHUpNYSi6ItGYCkPkCwyB2iaU_5Z-3psNHCrxg_B33GWvde9FBNish1Yp9WsQ-Xn9sCSPkylVucneq1KMvdE6gSLj22b1d-3QLCdFhuo/s1600/Angry_God.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZa2Vekcrrd8-XbUgYMJ_epjejVdXNxgDhT_aHUpNYSi6ItGYCkPkCwyB2iaU_5Z-3psNHCrxg_B33GWvde9FBNish1Yp9WsQ-Xn9sCSPkylVucneq1KMvdE6gSLj22b1d-3QLCdFhuo/s320/Angry_God.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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o:title="2-creation-of-adam-michelangelo11327468749912"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">God is sometimes portrayed (as in this
Michelangelo detail) as the compassionate dad reaching out to his children or
as the angry father about to reach out for his belt to blister somebody's
behind, but always as a man. (Usually as an old man as well, although God is
eternal and therefore ageless, neither old or young.)
There have been some
Bible's using alternative pronouns in passages and others using a neutral
non-gender word to replace all male references to God. These are focused on
cultural agendas, not on spiritual ones. So is God's sex really male?</span></span><span style="color: #435566; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5459454134383047" name="dd"></a><span style="color: #435566; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiabyi7fd_cg86YqPwxsodXbmaLSXVXA3I2HognEfIlfxMgLk2tyxjFMCdfeoe7jBW6nQG7w-ZHAicT8VyeYYytUOvqbPZnifF-dlilIa2xOAQmRrNx7khAgF0A0TrJvJiEFtsg3-aJe8/s1600-h/1963+Tatters+Pieta+02.jpg"><span style="color: #435566; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">
God is a
spirit. God is neither male nor female and God is both male and female. So</span><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> God created man in his own image, in the image
of God he created him; male and female he created them.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Genesis 1:27</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">
God
created man in God's own image, male and female. I take the "man" and
"him" here in the general sense of human, but even if someone wants
to point to passages in First Corinthians about man being the glory of God and
woman the glory of man, I contend that both female and male were created in the
image of God. (The Corinthians had their own problems, which were being dealt
with.) Remember, the woman is the counterpart of the man and together they are
complete and then they are the complete image of God's attributes. Is God ever
referred to in the feminine in the Bible?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">the man who gains understanding,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">for she is more profitable than silver<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">and yields better returns than gold.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">She is more precious than rubies;<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">nothing you desire can compare with her.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuT_fQmCEL_ukhSsC3ckDNHtfu_1E0aywRGKHDwhELlsEIUpSZdNORCvCf1bWMmi9hg4y20uNsJujx6Itxu7_tNzQBiQFqQEo_D6BsgxH2h8ISTaxXHbJ2bGY97kwfOxQ4-0Digr3VoY/s1600/1963+Pieta+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuT_fQmCEL_ukhSsC3ckDNHtfu_1E0aywRGKHDwhELlsEIUpSZdNORCvCf1bWMmi9hg4y20uNsJujx6Itxu7_tNzQBiQFqQEo_D6BsgxH2h8ISTaxXHbJ2bGY97kwfOxQ4-0Digr3VoY/s200/1963+Pieta+02.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_s1033" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="1963 Tatters Pieta 02"
style='position:absolute;left:0;text-align:left;margin-left:-10.95pt;
margin-top:11.45pt;width:234pt;height:195pt;z-index:251659264;visibility:visible'>
<v:imagedata src="file://localhost/Users/nitewrite/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_image023.jpg"
o:title="1963 Tatters Pieta 02"/>
<v:textbox style='mso-rotate-with-shape:t'/>
<w:wrap type="square"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Long life is in her right hand;<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">in her left hand are riches and honor.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Her ways are pleasant ways,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">and all her paths are peace.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">those who lay hold of her will be blessed.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">by understanding he set the heavens in place;<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">by his knowledge the deeps were divided,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">and the clouds let drop the dew. </span></i><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Proverbs 3:13-20</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">This is a
portion of a longer passage concerning Wisdom found in Proverbs. Wisdom is
personified as She, a woman. But the verbiage suggests Wisdom and the Word are
synonymous and also says by Wisdom the Lord laid the earth's foundations. The
Gospel of John tells us in the beginning the Word (Christ) was with God, and
the Word was God and it was through God-Word all things were made. (Also note
that Wisdom is the Tree of Life to those who embrace her, and </span><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". </span></i><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">John 14:6</span></i><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">)</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">God is a
spirit and is sexless. Christ came to our world as a male. Jesus was born into
a culture and time when women were not particularly respected, in fact, had few
rights or position in society. Perhaps if women had been the powers-that-be at
the time Jesus came, Christ would have come as a female.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Jesus came
to our world as a male and established his Church. Christians are the Church
and referred to as the body of Christ. But the Church is also spoken of in
feminine terms. We, who are Christian, whether man or woman, are female to
Christ's male, and as man and woman are incomplete apart, we are also
incomplete apart from Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Don't let
Satan get you all upset about whether God is a man or woman. God is all and God
should be your focus. Besides Jesus tells us there is no sex in Heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">So I
suppose we should deal with another passage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> When
men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them,
the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married
any of them they chose. </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Genesis 6: 1-3</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">There are
some who believe Angels, most likely the fallen ones, had sex with human
beings. I doubt it. When Jesus tells us there is no sex, or marriage, in
Heaven, he explains we will be like the Angels. It is implied the Angels, as
spiritual beings, do not engage in sexual things. I believe this passage in
Genesis refers to the Godly and sinful lines from Adam, the sons of Seth's line
and the daughters of Cain's line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: right; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: right; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The two images of God at the
top of the posts are details from the works of Michelangelo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The third image is a detail from
"Pieta" by the author, 1965<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"><br clear="ALL" style="page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">What is the</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Purpose of Life<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Want to
tackle the big one? What is the purpose of life?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I am not
going to consider the purpose of God. God has no obligation to explain God to
me. Job tried that and what did God say:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Who is this that darkens my counsel with
words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and
you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?" </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Job 38: 2-4</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Will the one who contends with the Almighty
correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!" </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Job 40:2<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But this is
my view of the purpose of our lives: <b>to gain perfect love</b>.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1C6PJxdIQsXpz8BVcJpO_q_rWixdXNC7dif0WLvyxMveHi4n87LTuxIp7o2Dv0PY4Yy_M9qCB-CkXzw5sw_jRntbfPaS8d5rSFc-AYnvGmM97t93dRE33Jd2nmIPm0HANVvey7eOlhoc/s1600/1960+09+082+Larry+with+ninth+girlfriend+Lois+Jean+Heaney+first+date+7:9:60.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1C6PJxdIQsXpz8BVcJpO_q_rWixdXNC7dif0WLvyxMveHi4n87LTuxIp7o2Dv0PY4Yy_M9qCB-CkXzw5sw_jRntbfPaS8d5rSFc-AYnvGmM97t93dRE33Jd2nmIPm0HANVvey7eOlhoc/s200/1960+09+082+Larry+with+ninth+girlfriend+Lois+Jean+Heaney+first+date+7:9:60.jpg" width="178" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And what is
perfect love?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Is this the
picture of perfect love?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">No, Perfect
Love is first of all to love God and after that loving others and our selves
equally. I think Christ gave our purpose in life to us when he said:</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest
commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All
the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Matt 22:37-40</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Now, it is
"love your neighbor as yourself" not more than yourself. You can't
love anything if you hate yourself. How am I going to do that? Even if I make a
show of loving someone, they are going to suffer because of the hurts I do to
myself because I hate me. I can hate some things I do, maybe a lot of things I
do, but if I hate myself I can never strive to not do those things, for I will
feel I deserve the punishments they bring. I must love myself enough to want to
do those things, which will not bring me harm or make me feel guilt.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">People who
hate themselves will begin to hate those who love them because those who love
them amplify their hatred of themselves by comparison. No, you cannot love
others if you hate yourself. You can only bring grief to others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">You can
love yourself without loving others. That is the self-centered person who
sticks a bumper sticker on their forehead reading, Me First, I Look Out for #1.
And they don't mean they look out for God. They think they are god.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">You can't
stop hating yourself and you can't get over yourself, until you recognize there
is a greater power than yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Loving God
supersedes all else. Our purpose in life is to love God as much as God loves
us. If we love God that way, then we will also love our neighbor and love our
selves.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">How do we
love God? By obeying Him. And if we obey, the rewards are magnificent, Heaven
and all that. It shouldn't be difficult; after all, there are only Ten Commandments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Adam and
Eve only had one commandment and they couldn't even obey it. And there aren't
just ten commandments there are 613. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Adam and
Eve had it made toward having perfect love and blew it. Then they felt so
ashamed they tried to cover themselves with leaves. They were inadequate to
this task as well. God had to perform the first sacrifice to provide the cover
for the first sin. We cannot obey the law of God without God doing it for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">We cannot
reach perfect love in this life, yet gaining perfect love is the purpose of
this life. We can only gain perfect love and perfect obedience by putting our
faith in God and accepting perfect love from him as a gift. If we do not, then
we really have no purpose in life, for we may gain the world, we may even do
loving things for others, but we will lose our soul.</span><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"><br clear="ALL" style="page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Things I Hear About My Ilk: Which Bible?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Another
characteristic I often hear leveled at we “evangelicals” is we are didactic on
which Bible must be used. Well, there are some who are, but then don’t they
fail their own testing of the Word? The Bible most ascribed with undeserved
ultra-holiness is the King James Version. There is nothing wrong with using the
King James Version if thou liketh. Truly, truly, it is very poetic with
beautiful phrasing of language. But it was written for people to read in the
17th Century, very beneficial for those, yea, thee and thou spaketh that way in
yore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Besides,
whose name is on the cover sheet of the Holy Bible Authorized King James
Version? Do you accept King James as the final arbitrator of the Word of God?
Can you find in Isaiah the verse prophesying the coming of the King James Bible
as the eleventh commandment? Perhaps it is declared in Habakkuk?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The Word of
God declares itself the Word of God and commands us to read the Word. We are to
read only what God inspired, adding nothing to it or taking anything away from
it. It is important we understand when we read the Word, so why burden us with
arcane grammar and vocabulary from a long-past era?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">There is
only one reason to cling to some single version of the true Holy Scripture –
tradition. Tradition has its place, but we should not be enslaved to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">To take to
task a Christian for their choice of Bible Translation (as long as it is a
honest translation) is no different than when the Pharisees took Jesus to task
for breaking traditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law
who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples
eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. (The
Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial
washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the
marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other
traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) Mark 7:1-4 New International Version<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> [Now we are not talking here about sanitary
practices. If my hands are dirty, I’m certainly going to wash them before
eating. This was a ceremonial washing that gave strict rules on how much water
to use, how the hands were to be attended to, how long and how many dunks, that
sort of thing.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">At that season Jesus went on the sabbath day
through the grainfields; and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck ears
and to eat. But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said unto him, Behold, thy
disciples do that which it is not lawful to do upon the sabbath. Matt 12:1-2 American Standard Version</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">[God had commanded
the Sabbath be kept Holy and you should not work. However, men had built up
tradition after tradition about what was and was not permissible on the
Sabbath. By tradition, Jesus and his followers were guilty by just being in the
field. By tradition you could only walk a very short distance on the Sabbath.
Also note I capitalized Sabbath in my aside. That is modern convention. In the
passage quoted, Sabbath is not capitalized. Do you think the use of the lower
case has destroyed the message of the passage by breaking a language
tradition?]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"I can't, sir," the sick man said,
"for I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred up.
While I am trying to get there, someone else always gets in ahead of me."
Jesus told him, </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Stand up, pick up your sleeping mat, and
walk!"</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up the
mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath day. So the
Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, "You can't
work on the Sabbath! It's illegal to carry that sleeping mat!" John 5:7-10
New Living Translation<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">[Do I even
have to comment on this?]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">In most of
my postings when I quote the Bible, I use the New International Version (NIV).
My former church often used the New American Standard Bible. But neither my
church nor I shy away from other versions. I use the NIV for its use of modern,
plain English. I don’t use different versions to give quotes because I think
one version right and another wrong, but for consistency. Even though another
version says the same thing in a slightly different sentence structure or
choice of a word doesn’t negate it for use. However, if I used a different
version for quote one and another for quote two and so on (as I did in the
examples quoted as samples of tradition] some would think I am picking and
choosing what suits my view rather than what God inspired. But let me be
redundant in quoting Mark: 7: 13-15, repeating the passage from different
versions so you see the truth of what I am talking about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Thus you
nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do
many things like that." Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said,
"Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can
make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man
that makes him 'unclean.'" New International Version<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Making the
word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and
many such like things do ye. And when he had called all the people unto him, he
said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: There is
nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the
things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man
have ears to hear, let him hear. King James Version<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">…making the
word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And
many such things you do." When He had called all the multitude to Himself,
He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:There is nothing that
enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out
of him, those are the things that defile a man.If anyone has ears to hear, let
him hear!" New King James Version<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">…making
void the word of God by your tradition, which Ye have delivered: and many such
like things Ye do. And he called to him the multitude again, and said unto
them, Hear me all of you, and understand: there is nothing from without the
man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of
the man are those that defile the man. (If any man hath ears to hear, let him
hear.) American Standard Version<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As such,
you break the law of God in order to protect your own tradition. And this is
only one example. There are many, many others." Then Jesus called to the
crowd to come and hear. "All of you listen," he said, "and try
to understand. You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you
say and do!" New Living Translation<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">…setting
aside the word of God for your tradition that ye delivered; and many such like
things ye do.' And having called near all the multitude, he said to them,
`Hearken to me, ye all, and understand; there is nothing from without the man
entering into him that is able to defile him, but the things coming out from
him, those are the things defiling the man. If any hath ears to hear -- let him
hear.' Young’s Literal Translation<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">What if you
do not speak English? Should you only be allowed to read the King James Version
because that is the only proper tradition? There was a time when only Latin
versions were allowed. Would you prefer to have only a Latin version of the
Bible? No, you can have the language you speak, such as Spanish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">…invalidando la palabra de Dios con vuestra
tradición que habéis transmitido. Y muchas cosas hacéis semejantes a estas. Y
llamando a sí a toda la multitud, les dijo: Oídme todos, y entended: Nada hay
fuera del hombre que entre en él, que le pueda contaminar; pero lo que sale de
él, eso es lo que contamina al hombre. Reina-Valera Revisada © 1960 Sociedades
Biblicas en América</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> Latina.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"><br clear="ALL" style="page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Chicken or the Egg?</span><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_rP1FjCzYMFXDmXJVmIveXyOSrozxZyp1_Vu0JboZViv4DqrbEqVf92_lSWdURBI3pYFHZpezSOUTip7Ifn1xZvthq2kecx74OGwvKxUgyPgp-ttSaw0OGcOnD64S1W7hyphenhyphenoIjGmFH1w/s1600/2005+02+13+Ron+at+Rehoboth+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_rP1FjCzYMFXDmXJVmIveXyOSrozxZyp1_Vu0JboZViv4DqrbEqVf92_lSWdURBI3pYFHZpezSOUTip7Ifn1xZvthq2kecx74OGwvKxUgyPgp-ttSaw0OGcOnD64S1W7hyphenhyphenoIjGmFH1w/s320/2005+02+13+Ron+at+Rehoboth+01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">But you remove God from it all and the mystery
remains and everything in the end comes down to faith. If the Big Bang created
the universe, where did the Big Bang come from? Where does nothing end and
something begin? How could nothing become something? Don't dwell too long
thinking about it or it will drive you crazy, because something from nothing is
impossible and there being nothing without something is impossible and there
being something without end is impossible.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Ronald
Tipton asked me, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg". (He has
had birds much on his mind lately, Bluebirds and Sparrow and chickens in trucks.)
I, of course, replied, "no, not at all".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I
have reconsidered my answer. I had in mind the first sentence. Obviously,
because of my belief the "chicken or egg" analogy wouldn't apply to
that statement. If one wishes to accept the Big Bang Theory that the universe
came suddenly into being from a singularity, then God came first and then the
creation. If you wish not to believe in God, then the singularity whatever it
could possibly be still came first and then the creation; in either case, no
"chicken or egg" quandary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">But
the last half of the paragraph is probably what my friend had in mind. It does
seem to ask which came first, nothing or something. I don't think it's as
straightforward as whether the chicken or egg came first. The chicken lays eggs
and eggs become chickens. Oak trees produce acorns and oaks grow from acorns.
Peoples have babies and babies become people. Obviously the chicken came
first.***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Either
way when you deal with the chicken or the egg you are dealing with something
coming from something; when dealing with something coming from nothing you are
in a cosmic (pun intended) paradox. This is an area if you are obsessive you do
not want to enter. There are scientists who argue over this matter (or lack
thereof of matter). Some physicists claim there was no space before there was
the universe. Others have other ideas. They do not have agreement on an answer.
Even if they would agree on an answer it would be theoretical, unobservable and
not provable. Just as my belief in a creator God is, which is why whether you
accept God in the equation or avow there is no God are acts of faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">I
will say this, but don't linger over it, the universe is finite; it has an end.
What is at its end? And where is the end of that what? Ah, but perhaps the “what”
doesn't have an end, yet how could that be? You see the conundrum here? Every
possibility is impossible. Therefore, why is it any less creditable to believe
in God?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">***Why
I say the chicken came first. My worldview is God centered. I accept the Bible
as his word. How does the Bible describe the creation of birds and animals and
man?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And God said, "Let the water teem with
living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the
sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and
moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every
winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed
them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in
the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening,
and there was morning--the fifth day.</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And God said, "Let the land produce living
creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the
ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God
made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to
their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to
their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us make man
in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and
the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the
creatures that move along the ground."<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">So God created man in his own image,in the image
of God he created him;male and female he created them. </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">--Genesis 1:20-27</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">God
took the dust of the earth and formed a man and breathed life into the man. Man
did not begin as a baby that had to grow to adulthood, but as a man. From the
descriptions it seems God created the birds, fish and beasts as fully grown
species of their kind, not as tadpoles and eggs. Thus the chicken came before
the egg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">(The photo at the top of this post is a self-portrait taken by
Ronald Tipton standing on the Rehoboth Beach.)</span></i></b><span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-83970250013291474262013-02-01T19:34:00.000-05:002013-03-15T16:21:00.680-04:00IV WEEPING<!--[if !mso]>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBtz8LNn_WpIGAhHXWrV4l2FZtBHv80eJq_ckePkn2bUZ22Wbv84JFTsw0G8ltOv2akAV7xRqwH-_Uuv53se5sQV5VUNLgxZ_ZlQhet2SjNuiHsfw6TW0sx_Wn8ApOQNarmAnaQ2Uvxo/s1600/2006+09+11+300+Shooting+too+quick+after+dolphins+Boothbay+Wh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBtz8LNn_WpIGAhHXWrV4l2FZtBHv80eJq_ckePkn2bUZ22Wbv84JFTsw0G8ltOv2akAV7xRqwH-_Uuv53se5sQV5VUNLgxZ_ZlQhet2SjNuiHsfw6TW0sx_Wn8ApOQNarmAnaQ2Uvxo/s320/2006+09+11+300+Shooting+too+quick+after+dolphins+Boothbay+Wh.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Life is Like That<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">A minister
made an interesting observation. He said, "Life isn't like a roller
coaster. Life is like train tracks." He further explained that when a
train travels down its track, one rail is always to its right and one to its
left. We travel on a train called life and on our left is a rail of problems
and bad moments, but the rail on our right are blessings and joys. Both are
always with us, balancing each other and carrying us along. I tend to look at
my life as a boat trip across a sea. I set off at birth from one shore on a
voyage to a distant one. The wind some times blows me toward another place,
sometimes dies and leaves me in the doldrums, sometimes slows or speeds me on
my way, sometimes threatens to capsize me into a deep, opaque place where
creatures lurk who may be benign or may be a threat. Some of these are evil
beasts who would do me great harm; some may be sirens who would tempt me into
becoming a prisoner to my own desires and lusts, and lost forever.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRWdjG8Y4D-wRw0GGBNGE7CawXbUByTTk_N1DBMCq1NXIVrdL1qSD6wbGN9zLHSZcwgyyaUHqsrEHfR-Y4Yr1FdlU6M21ke3Sw4hs3BBI-l8oQT3F4RebnocGbFn4Qmi_e2bW-o4y_qE/s1600/2006+09+12+326+Oops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRWdjG8Y4D-wRw0GGBNGE7CawXbUByTTk_N1DBMCq1NXIVrdL1qSD6wbGN9zLHSZcwgyyaUHqsrEHfR-Y4Yr1FdlU6M21ke3Sw4hs3BBI-l8oQT3F4RebnocGbFn4Qmi_e2bW-o4y_qE/s320/2006+09+12+326+Oops.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">There are always waves. Some days they are small
and gentle, comforting one like a mother rocks her baby to calm it. Other days
it rolls the craft, makes you tense or stirs you to full alertness. There are
big waves that occasionally strike that might tear it asunder, leaving you
adrift on splintered planks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84w1x2l4FYWQnyT4EmVduv0iqeTj4U0RWfCJhjXsQTJ_XmoukvE4Ua_dco6uhbigleVy1a7zt0mzE4A2-bhmtsTlgWI56NjiR5t-BpG8ucBF7AySQu8ONI93_oY1CHqpHW-Ux-j2J080/s1600/2006+09+11+290+This+is+Maine's+smallest+lighthouse+Boothbay+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84w1x2l4FYWQnyT4EmVduv0iqeTj4U0RWfCJhjXsQTJ_XmoukvE4Ua_dco6uhbigleVy1a7zt0mzE4A2-bhmtsTlgWI56NjiR5t-BpG8ucBF7AySQu8ONI93_oY1CHqpHW-Ux-j2J080/s320/2006+09+11+290+This+is+Maine's+smallest+lighthouse+Boothbay+.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">
And you
must steer your course and make decisions on how to deal with these changes of
weather and tides. To sail across a sea to the destination of your choice,
every good sailor knows, you need a chart and a star to guide you straight. If
you read your chart and keep your eye and contact on that star, you will arrive
safely in the Promised Land you seek. You may have had many adventures on the
way, hopefully with a faithful first mate to share the trip and to ward off the
pirates and sharks that may attempt to belay you. My chart for sailing across
the sea of life is the Bible and my guiding star is God: Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. His star is always bright and twinkles even through fog and cloud, you
just have to trust and follow that course it sets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
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margin-top:.25pt;width:235.05pt;height:176.05pt;z-index:251664384;
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry
land. -- Psalm 95:5<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"><br clear="ALL" style="page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Life is Like That Redux<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1026"
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77PWRQEIYztyWI_reqDxPVyW6NeoTLZtvg3IOWtWvLbyJzu4GI1x0WvAIZRwqhgOLXinYPTzvQ6I7fWH-FO6-SOThFqLjh06_16EmCtIcbeBmzprUrqFQb7Ynl5DOxADMGUQpqhmDpmY/s1600/2006+09+10+122+Hamptons+NH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77PWRQEIYztyWI_reqDxPVyW6NeoTLZtvg3IOWtWvLbyJzu4GI1x0WvAIZRwqhgOLXinYPTzvQ6I7fWH-FO6-SOThFqLjh06_16EmCtIcbeBmzprUrqFQb7Ynl5DOxADMGUQpqhmDpmY/s320/2006+09+10+122+Hamptons+NH.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Three men
who lived near the sea, but not near each other heard of a wonderful place.
They each desired to travel there and decided it was only accessible by water
travel. One man built a raft. He put all he had on his raft and pushed it into
the sea near his home and hopped aboard. He didn't think he had to do anything
more. There was a tide and he believed the current would carry him to the
wonderful place. Several miles down the shore his raft was smashed to pieces on
a rocky outcrop. He was lucky to escape with his life. This was <b>predestined</b>
for there was no other course the tide would have taken him, except to these
rocks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1025"
type="#_x0000_t75" alt="2006 09 11 299 Blurry pix of harbor seals in water Boothbay "
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o:title="2006 09 11 299 Blurry pix of harbor seals in water Boothbay "/>
<v:textbox style='mso-rotate-with-shape:t'/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_khT7yracyZmDo54uRzmKQlQWgJdaptOw-GhVhVnLspADIJPIQrGlHH-R8C80YmLKvBx7Rqja4PDfNqrPSwwALjdXOjjighnTYQ8WpXAjE0ZsdcAxeTK6VcE4yotmpdWHDv9ch5tcqs/s1600/2006+09+11+299+Blurry+pix+of+harbor+seals+in+water+Boothbay+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_khT7yracyZmDo54uRzmKQlQWgJdaptOw-GhVhVnLspADIJPIQrGlHH-R8C80YmLKvBx7Rqja4PDfNqrPSwwALjdXOjjighnTYQ8WpXAjE0ZsdcAxeTK6VcE4yotmpdWHDv9ch5tcqs/s320/2006+09+11+299+Blurry+pix+of+harbor+seals+in+water+Boothbay+.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The second
man had a small boat, which he equipped with a sail. He launched from a dock
and</span><span style="color: #435566; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">hoisted the sail. Never having sailed before, he
simply laid back letting the winds carry him along. Soon the shoreline faded in
the distance and he saw nothing but water and sky for days as the wind blew him
this way and that. By<b> chance</b> he came to land. He jumped from his boat
just as a change of breeze began to blow back toward the sea and waded to the
beach. He soon discovered himself alone on a small island with no way to leave.</span><span style="color: #435566; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_3" o:spid="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="2006 09 16 625 Not much wind for our sail Mystic Seaport"
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnsPZR4pjCwMd_h0eyCHQQmwRxTFRSI9fNQkM2S8nLHyzH5SAEr_l-UFOuuJwGB4sDKGzEd_XDnuums9_Lo6bRvFLvZpCnAxtZcWrNyZVaZL4AO1HfafgEpJCQI3MT5ypht4nTIQpstg/s1600-h/2006+09+16+Mystic+Seaport+04.jpg"><span style="color: #435566; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpXRzx51xDSMw8tLrqKdz8NhLxqBWZzNiQWkNOKUAwTcMMZIbrZ7A3aKuh0xIAATSGgWeLJ-fYO-QsKT5ck6BMJmay8gkqLMKshg9dfl2XMQGow23Tesxj05FqSzG3SRyy_rlyzmvb4w/s1600/2006+09+16+625+Not+much+wind+for+our+sail+Mystic+Seaport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpXRzx51xDSMw8tLrqKdz8NhLxqBWZzNiQWkNOKUAwTcMMZIbrZ7A3aKuh0xIAATSGgWeLJ-fYO-QsKT5ck6BMJmay8gkqLMKshg9dfl2XMQGow23Tesxj05FqSzG3SRyy_rlyzmvb4w/s320/2006+09+16+625+Not+much+wind+for+our+sail+Mystic+Seaport.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The third
man also set sail in a small dinghy. Before he started he obtained some charts
and a sextant. He drew a bead on a fixed star and followed a course across the
sea. He had learned how to trim his sail or set it to the advantage of the
breezes, and when he found himself in doldrums, he had oars and rowed himself
along. There were storms he had to face and times he felt inadequate to the
task, but he reached the wonderful land. It wasn't by chance or because he was
predestined to reach it, but because he kept his eye on the star and, with some
effort on his own part, followed its leading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: right; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: blue;">All the above photos at sea by the author.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"><br clear="ALL" style="page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">It’s Never Too Late</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6HkOc1_rqjYSTgNnMhGGphSeeyOuD5Ei-lER5W_LeRXmM76vIj5YVvmYK9VDgVqz406hPmpar465J1w_WgqYnUxiWzROqsfbJSdLR-KTjQIwL1zqEEKCREtI_Jrz3jAnZN03efstV8Y/s1600/titian+good-thief,-c-1565.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6HkOc1_rqjYSTgNnMhGGphSeeyOuD5Ei-lER5W_LeRXmM76vIj5YVvmYK9VDgVqz406hPmpar465J1w_WgqYnUxiWzROqsfbJSdLR-KTjQIwL1zqEEKCREtI_Jrz3jAnZN03efstV8Y/s320/titian+good-thief,-c-1565.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">(On the left: Titian's The Good Thief on the
Cross, c.1565)</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">People say
"If only..." when looking back to the past. They say, "I believe
all things work for good" when facing a current difficulty. Sometimes when
speaking of the future they say, "it's never too late" Quite often,
we Christians tell people it is never too late to accept Christ as
Savior. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">To prove a
person can be saved in even their final moments, we point to one of the thieves
crucified along side Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">One of the criminals who hung there hurled
insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and
us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear
God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are
punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has
done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you
come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the
truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:39-43</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Although
last gasp salvation is possible, we need to modify saying it is never too late.
Before you die, it is not too late to come to saving grace. If you die
without it, then it is too late.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">There is
another aspect of this expression we need to consider. Is it completely true
that in this life it is never too late? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">People say
it is never too late to live a certain way or reach a goal. It many cases,
though, it is too late. I am in my seventies; it's too late for me to become a
Major League Baseball Star. My wife is my same age and has had a hysterectomy;
it is too late for her to have another baby.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">When people
are young they say I want to enjoy life now. I can go to church and do all that
religious stuff when I get old. That may or may not be too late. You may not
get old. You might be in a car accident and die on the highway. You may be a
soldier in a war and be blown to smithereens. You may simply have a heart
attack at 40. Then it will be too late for that "religious
stuff". <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">"In the time of my favor I heard you, and in
the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God's
favor, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeW6uMKdIQ8kmcxR3K3yWq-g10lHQKWmBdusCJygTN-kDlaDEgH_2Hbyn6uxAkcIW-ZAf5qKPo55YVQ-BF-YHCWKoQ0MKqzmwFJzKJHQqHKk0gwfAT_e7HAvrpdVNtZiqZPa1I4xD-qgQ/s1600/2006+08+25-27+Phila+Overnight+145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeW6uMKdIQ8kmcxR3K3yWq-g10lHQKWmBdusCJygTN-kDlaDEgH_2Hbyn6uxAkcIW-ZAf5qKPo55YVQ-BF-YHCWKoQ0MKqzmwFJzKJHQqHKk0gwfAT_e7HAvrpdVNtZiqZPa1I4xD-qgQ/s320/2006+08+25-27+Phila+Overnight+145.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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long and prosper, have no car wreck, suffer no war and never get ill. There
seems to be the possibility you can deliberately ignore the Holy Spirit too
often and then God may give you over to your own desires and you become blind
in your sins to your need of Salvation through Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #3366ff; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">(Photo on the right by the author is of Rodin's "Gates of
Hell", Rodin Museum, Philadelphia, Pa. 2006)</span></i><i><span style="color: #3366ff; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">It may be too late
for you.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">The only path
ahead may be one you find satisfying to your ego and filled with all the
earthly pleasures you lust after, but then in all too short a time it will come
to an end at the Gates of Hell.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Our saying should
be, it is never too soon to avoid it ever being too late to accept Christ into
your heart.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459454134383047.post-47987531156715459502013-01-28T13:04:00.000-05:002013-10-11T21:33:25.412-04:00V SCIENCE<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPbo9NYZIEsnEPIPzVOCVDYgxQ2gAtZxw1qGxxINeIuZiRk9z7aNP1BWV5kLWFScw_x4Pqio83psv0ovR0QPcgwnmms6DizM6lzIYam7NgTUiZJVlrORbNo3D0hyaMODQcMkuxQmIZUg/s1600/2007+Virginia+Trip+344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPbo9NYZIEsnEPIPzVOCVDYgxQ2gAtZxw1qGxxINeIuZiRk9z7aNP1BWV5kLWFScw_x4Pqio83psv0ovR0QPcgwnmms6DizM6lzIYam7NgTUiZJVlrORbNo3D0hyaMODQcMkuxQmIZUg/s400/2007+Virginia+Trip+344.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Through the Lens of Jim<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">When Christ came as
high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the
greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a
part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and
calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood,
having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the
ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them
so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God,
cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve
the living God! Hebrews 9:11-14</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">The ostrich
poking his beak into our car is not as graceful perhaps as the swans on Jim's
"Journaling for Growth" Blog, but it is certainly taking a bird's eye
view of things. Unfortunately, that is the only view some ever take of
Scripture for usually we use the expression "taking a Bird's Eye view"
as seeing things from a distance. So, I guess in truth this ostrich wasn't
taking a bird's eye view at all, but one up close and personal, much to the
unease of my wife.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">If you take
the opportunity to read Jim's Blogs, both "Journaling for
Growth" and "Love One Another", you'll learn how much there is
up close and personal in Scripture. Jim doesn't just give you the bird's
eye view; he gets down in the dust and gives the worm's eye view as well. You
learn the depth of God's Word.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">It reminded
me of my childhood when I wanted, and got, for Christmas a microscope.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">That's
right, as a kid I wanted to be a scientist. First a herpetologist,
then an entomologist, then a chemist, then an anthropologist and when I finally
did go to college, I was majoring in sociology, a social science. Oh, I had a
lot of interests and I got pretty involved in each for a while, but I missed
the most important of all in what I considered excursions into the mysteries
and life and a search for truth. I ignored the Scriptures. I considered them as
nice little tales mixed with a lot of boring stuff that was hard to pronounce
and difficult to read.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Now I see
it all differently. I think what I discovered is exactly what Jim knows.
Scripture is multi-layered that you could study forever and always find another
truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">That's why
my microscope came to mind. It was a very nice microscope. It had several lens
on a disc you could turn. Each lens was more powerful than the last. If you put
an insect on the slide and peered through the first lens, it appeared bigger,
but still similar to what you saw with the naked eye. But each turn of lens
reveled more about the structure of the creature until the last lens where you
saw the fine veins and delicate colors of its wings, which had appeared as
colorless with your bird's eye view.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">And that is
what you get when you begin to see how all the Bible fits into a story of God's
relationship to man, into the story of atonement through Christ's sacrifice and
salvation through his future return, and all the colors of our God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Thank you,
Jim, for taking the time and putting in the effort to help us see these things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Comment from Jim Leasure:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Larry, thanks for noticing the detail. That is where I want to
be, in the dust. I cannot say I understand much. When I read Russ's blogs, I often
feel uneducated and have difficulty being certain that I am assimilating the
messages under the 'microscope' to get the bigger picture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Garden Party<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5459454134383047" name="ff"></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A little
girl asked her mother, 'How did the human race appear?'</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The mother
answered, 'God made Adam and Eve and they had children and then all mankind was
made.'</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Two days
later the girl asked her father the same question. The father answered, 'Many
years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved.'</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
confused girl returned to her mother and said, 'Mom, how is it possible that
you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they developed from
monkeys?'</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The mother
answered, 'Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the
family and your father told you about his.'</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">It was a
lovely day. I was sitting on a bench by a small garden of pretty white and pink
flowers. Bees flittered back and forth between petals. I thought about the
perfection of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">In the
light breeze of the afternoon you could just get a whiff of the perfume of
those blossoms. Obviously the bees could smell it for they were attracted to
the source of the pleasing odor, which is the reason flowers smell good in the
first place. The whole design of the blossom is made to attract the bee, stick
pollen to it and let it carry the pollen to another plant to impregnate it, so
to speak. This is a neat little system of bees and flowers working together for
their mutual benefit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">If
reproduction is the benefit to the plant, what is the benefit to the bee? The
bee goes from flower to flower gathering nectar to take back to the hive. In
the hive the bees turn the nectar into honey. It is stored in cells and when
the honey is ready, the cell is capped with wax for storage. Then comes winter
when the flowers are gone to seed, the bee taps the wax and has food to last
till spring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Pretty
ingenious for an accident, don't'cha think?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">They say if
you put some monkeys in front of typewriters they would produce all the works
of Shakespeare if given enough time. How much time, do you suppose? And how
would you keep the monkeys at the typewriters? And how would they live long
enough? Shakespeare didn't sit at a typewriter (well, of course not,
typewriters didn't exist, but he sat by a blank piece of paper with a quill)
for some interminable time. He started with an idea and plan of what he wanted
to say and wrote it over a short period. He designed his plays with
intelligence, not chance and accident. Frankly, I don't think those monkeys
would produce all those works if they pecked away for eternity. But I don't
have enough faith to be an evolutionist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Frankly,
every fish I ever saw taken out of the water for any period of time evolved
into a dead fish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Then God said, "Let the land produce
vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed
in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced
vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing
fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Genesis 1:11-12</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And God said, "Let the land produce living
creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the
ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God
made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to
their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to
their kinds. And God saw that it was good. </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Genesis 1:24-25</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Then God said, "Let us make man in our
image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the
birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the
creatures that move along the ground."</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Genesis 1:26<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">A belief in
creationism is an act of faith. So is the belief that evolution explains how we
came to what we are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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